Was the German military spied on by Russia? Berlin, very embarrassed, inquires

The case emerged after Russian social media accounts close to the Kremlin broadcast what strongly resembled a recording of a conversation between German officials, according to German media. Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of Russian state channel RT, released a file that lasted more than half an hour, presenting it as an exchange between German military personnel discussing attacks targeting Crimea. The peninsula was annexed by Moscow in 2014.

The latter specifically talk about the hypothesis of the use by the Ukrainian forces of long-range Taurus missiles, German production, their possible impact, especially if they are aimed at targets such as the Crimean bridge connecting the Kerch Peninsula. Crimea, in the west, and Russian territory. They also discuss the details of the long-range Scalp missiles supplied to Ukraine by France and Great Britain.

Actual registration

Experts interviewed by the weekly Der Spiegel considered the recording to be genuine. Ukraine has been asking Germany for long for these missiles, which can reach a range of more than 500 km.

“If this story is true, it will be very complicated,” Constantin von Notz, head of the German parliamentary committee for monitoring the secret services, told the RND group of newspapers. “The question arises whether this is an exceptional case or a structural security problem” within the German military, he added. German officials fear the alleged tapping is not isolated.

In Moscow, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova demanded “quick clarifications from Germany” on the matter. “Any attempt to avoid answering questions will be treated as an admission of guilt,” he said.

For his part, Dmitry Medvedev, the number two of the Russian Security Council, declared on his Telegram account that “our long-time rivals, the Germans, have again become our sworn enemies.” “Look at how precisely “Klius” talks about hitting our territory with long-range missiles, choosing targets to hit and how to inflict maximum damage to our homeland,” he said.

Secret discussion in public forum

Roderich Kieswetter, an expert on security affairs for the main opposition CDU (conservatives), assessed that “this proselytization was deliberately propagated by Russia at this precise moment with a specific aim”, which would kill the debate in Germany in the egg. Delivery of Taurus missiles to Kyiv. “Other conversations were certainly heard and then broadcast to serve Russia's interests,” he told the ZDF channel.