Germany said on Saturday it was investigating an apparent phone call, after Moscow said a recording of German officials showed them discussing arms shipments to Ukraine and a possible attack by Kiev on a bridge in Crimea.
A spokesman for the German Defense Ministry said on Saturday that the Federal Office for Military Counterintelligence was investigating what appeared to be a case of bugging, and that it was possible that the recording had been altered.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz, speaking during a visit to Rome, called the possible leak “very serious” and said it “is now being clarified very carefully, very intensively and very quickly.”
Margarita Simonyan, a journalist for Russian state TV and head of Russia Today, published the audio on her Telegram channel and said it revealed German officers “discussing how to attack the Crimean bridge,” which connects Russia to the once-annexed Ukrainian peninsula. in 2014 by Moscow.
Reuters listened to the 38-minute recording but could not independently confirm its authenticity.
Participants on the call discuss the possible delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Kiev, which Scholz has firmly publicly rejected until now. They also talk about training Ukrainian soldiers and possible military targets.
Scholz, speaking on a visit to Rome, told journalists the possible leak was “very serious”.
“That is why it is now being clarified very carefully, intensely and quickly. This is also necessary,” he said.
The Russian embassy in Berlin did not respond to a request for comment on the allegations of possible espionage. A spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said on social media Friday: “We demand an explanation from Germany,” without detailing its specific concerns.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke to journalists on Saturday about “the cunning plans of the Bundeswehr (German armed forces), which became apparent due to the publication of this audio recording. “This is blatant self-exposure,” Lavrov said.
Roderich Kiesewetter, a member of the German Parliament, told the Handelsblatt newspaper that he considers the information to be authentic.
“It is clear that Russia is showing how much it uses espionage and sabotage as part of the war. It is to be expected that much more has been intercepted and leaked in order to influence decisions, discredit and manipulate people,” he said.
Source: CNN Brasil
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