Berlin has accused Moscow of waging an “information war” following the release of an audio recording in which German military officials discuss sensitive issues about Ukraine, including potential strikes inside Russian territory.
“This hybrid attack [by Russia] aims to generate insecurity and divide us,” a German government spokesman said on March 4.
“That is exactly what we will not allow. We are in constant contact with our partners.”
A day earlier, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius described the incident as “more than just the interception and publication of a conversation” by Russia.
“It is a hybrid disinformation attack,” Mr. Pistorius said. “It is about undermining our unity.”
He went on to accuse Moscow of waging what he called “an information war” against Germany with the aim of sowing dissension among Kyiv’s allies.
Since Russia launched its invasion of eastern Ukraine more than two years ago, Germany, a core NATO member, has remained one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters.
Berlin has already supplied the Ukrainian military with large volumes of arms and equipment, including scores of German-built combat tanks.
Late last week, the Russian media released the recording, which appeared to feature a conversation between several German military officials.
In the recording, the officials can be heard discussing possible arms deliveries to Ukraine, including German-built Taurus cruise missiles—a move German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has so far resisted.
The officials can also be heard discussing the delivery to Ukraine of long-range missiles by both France and the UK.
Most contentiously, they also discuss potential Russian military targets, including a strategic bridge in the Black Sea region of Crimea.
Russia effectively annexed Crimea in 2014 after holding a controversial referendum and now regards the region as Russian Federation territory.
Moscow says the recording proves the existence of plans by the Bundeswehr, Germany’s military, to help Kyiv carry out strikes inside Russian territory.
“The recording indicates that plans to launch strikes on Russian territory are being discussed—substantively and concretely—within the Bundeswehr,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on March 4.
‘Very Bad’ Scenarios
Mr. Peskov questioned whether the recording’s contents reflected official German government policy or “whether the Bundeswehr is doing this on its own initiative.”He went on to describe either scenario as “very bad.”
“Both [scenarios] serve to underline—once again—the direct involvement of the countries of the collective West in the conflict,” he said.
It remains unclear how Russia obtained the 38-minute recording, the authenticity of which the German government has since confirmed.
Soon after it was released, Mr. Scholz said the recording—which he described as “very serious”—was “being clarified very carefully and very intensively.”
Germany’s military counterintelligence agency has reportedly opened an investigation into what it has called a possible case of “eavesdropping” by Russia.
According to Mr. Pistorius, the officers speaking in the recording were not discussing concrete military plans but rather “hypothetical” situations.
A German government spokesman described Russia’s claims that the recording was proof that Berlin was preparing for war as “absurd” propaganda.
Envoy Visits Foreign Ministry
Despite the denials, Russia’s TASS news agency reported on March 4 that Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, Berlin’s envoy to Moscow, had been summoned by Russia’s Foreign Ministry to provide an explanation for the recording.A German government spokesman later denied that the envoy had been formally summoned, claiming that the meeting at the ministry had been scheduled beforehand.
It remains unclear what transpired at the meeting, after which Mr. Lambsdorff reportedly left the ministry building without speaking to reporters.
Since the conflict began, NATO-aligned states—including Germany—have collectively provided Kyiv with billions of dollars in arms and equipment.
However, NATO leaders have repeatedly stressed their hope of avoiding a direct confrontation with Russia, citing the potential for a global war.
“Neither NATO nor NATO allies are party to the conflict,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated last month.
However, Moscow has accused the Western alliance of direct involvement in the ongoing conflict by providing Kyiv with arms, equipment, and various other forms of support.
It has also accused what it often refers to as the “collective West” of using Ukraine to conduct a “proxy war” against Russia.
NATO claims to be helping Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s ongoing invasion, which entered its third year last month.
