Officers bugged by Russians
“Very serious matter” – Scholz promises clarification on the Taurus leak
March 2, 2024, 1:09 p.m
After publishing a recording of discussions between German Air Force officers about support for Ukraine, Chancellor Scholz promises quick clarification. On the sidelines of a visit to the Vatican, the SPD politician spoke of a “very serious matter”.
After the recording of discussions between German Air Force officers published by Russian media, Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised a quick clarification of the events. It was about talks about a possible delivery of the Taurus cruise missile to Ukraine for its liberation struggle against the Russian invasion. During his visit to the Vatican, Scholz spoke of a “very serious matter.” In response to a question about possible foreign policy damage, he said: “That is why this is now being investigated very carefully, very intensively and very quickly. That is also necessary.”
The head of the Russian state broadcaster RT, Margarita Simonjan, published an audio recording of the approximately 30-minute conversation on Friday, which may have been intercepted. In it, senior Air Force officers can be heard discussing the theoretical possibilities of using German Taurus cruise missiles by Ukraine. According to dpa information, the conversation is authentic. The officers connected via the Webex platform.
The German Ministry of Defense confirmed the wiretapping case. “According to our assessment, a conversation in the Air Force was intercepted. We cannot currently say with certainty whether changes were made to the recorded or written version that is circulating on social media,” said a ministry spokeswoman for the German Press Agency in Berlin.
Security politicians demanded consequences. “It must finally be an end to our naivety. Cyber attacks, espionage and disinformation have already increased massively today. We urgently need to increase our security and counter-espionage, because we are obviously vulnerable in this area,” said the chairwoman of the Bundestag’s Defense Committee, Marie- Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, ntv. The deputy Union parliamentary group leader Johann Wadephul called on the federal government to tighten the regulations for the protection of communications.
Green politician Konstantin von Notz told the RND: “The question arises as to whether this is a one-off event or a structural security problem.” The chairman of the Parliamentary Control Committee demanded that he expects “immediate clarification of all background information.”
Details about Taurus and explosive statements about allies
Air Force Inspector Ingo Gerhartz, among others, took part in the conversation. It is said to have served as preparation for a briefing for Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. The exchange documented in the audio file addresses, among other things, the question of whether Taurus cruise missiles would be technically capable of destroying the bridge built by Russia to the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed in violation of international law. Another point is whether Ukraine could carry out the shelling without the participation of the Bundeswehr. However, it can also be heard in the recording that there is no green light at the political level for the delivery of the cruise missiles demanded by Kiev.
What is explosive is that there is talk of the British having “a few people on site” in connection with the use of their Storm Shadow cruise missiles delivered to Ukraine. There had just been anger in Great Britain over a statement made by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which some interpreted as an indiscretion. “What the British and French are doing in terms of target control and the accompaniment of target control cannot be done in Germany,” said the SPD politician. He left it open what exactly he meant by that. However, the sentence was understood by some as an indication that the French and British would support the control of their Storm Shadow and Scalp cruise missiles, which were delivered to Ukraine, with their own forces on site. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak immediately denied this: “Ukraine’s use of the Storm Shadow long-range missile system and the target selection process are the responsibility of the Ukrainian armed forces.”
Kiesewetter: Russia wants to prevent a Taurus delivery with a leak
The CDU defense expert Roderich Kiesewetter said in an interview with ntv.de: “Espionage is part of Russia’s hybrid warfare toolbox, so it is in no way surprising that such a conversation was intercepted. It is equally unsurprising that the recording became public . We have to assume that the Russians have more material of this kind.”
When asked whether the publication was intended to distract attention from Alexei Navalny’s funeral, Kiesewetter said: “That is possible, but I think another explanation is much more likely. With the leak, Russia wants to prevent Germany from finally giving Ukraine the Taurus -Delivers the cruise missiles it so desperately needs.”
Strack-Zimmermann explained to ntv: “It was only a matter of time before it became public. The intention that it was published right now is obvious: after the Chancellor ruled out delivery last week, the reasons “Since his rejection was refuted by experts within 24 hours, they obviously want to deter him from giving the green light after all.”
Scholz has repeatedly emphasized that he is against the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. This position is also controversial within his own traffic light coalition. The Chancellor justifies this with the danger that Germany could be drawn into the war of aggression started by Russia.
The Union’s defense policy spokesman, Florian Hahn, now demanded that the Chancellor explain himself to the Bundestag’s Defense Committee. From his point of view, the alleged Air Force conversation underlines that a use of Taurus by the Ukrainians would be possible even without Bundeswehr personnel on site. “If the recording is real, the Chancellor’s statements from this week are not only inappropriate, but false,” the CSU politician told the German Press Agency. Minister Pistorius was explicitly informed about the Taurus, including its possible uses. “It is therefore hard to imagine that Scholz knew nothing about this military assessment.” Although he considers forward-looking military planning to be quite normal, clarification is required here. “I expect Chancellor Scholz to speak on this in the Defense Committee.”