German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced the launch of an investigation after an audio recording of confidential talks on the war in Ukraine appeared on Russian social media.
A spokesperson for the German Ministry of Defense confirmed that the ministry believes the conversation was intercepted.
“We cannot currently say with certainty whether changes have been made to the recorded version circulating on social media,” they said.
Russian journalist Margarita Simonyan published the audio recording on her Telegram channel, claiming it reveals German officers “discussing how to strike the Crimean Bridge.”The recording also discusses the training of Ukrainian soldiers and potential military targets.
Journalists listened to the 38-minute recording but could not confirm its authenticity.
The German broadcaster ARD described the leak as catastrophic for German intelligence services.
Speaking at a diplomatic forum in Turkey on Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the recording shows that Ukraine and its supporters “do not want to change their course at all, and they want to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield.”, Klix.ba writes.
E.Dz.
