Ukraine war: Germany alleges Putin seeking to 'destabilise' country through wiretap

A German minister on Sunday (Mar 3) claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin was seeking to destabilise the country using the wiretap leak.Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said, "It is about using this recording to destabilise and unsettle us,"adding that he "hoped that Putin will not succeed".

What's the wiretap leak episode?

In what came as a massive embarrassment for Berlin, alleged call recordings of the German defence forces over the Ukraine war were posted on Russian social media by a state-backed journalist. Margarita Simonyan, the head of the Russia Today (RT) channel, posted the audio clip on her telegram channel, allegedly featuring German officers “discussing how to strike the Crimea bridge”, which links Russia to the Ukrainian peninsula.

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reacted to the potential leak of sensitive communication by saying that a full investigation will be launched soon. Calling the leak “very serious,” Scholz said it was “now being clarified very carefully, very intensively and very quickly”.

A spokesperson for the German defence ministry suggested a conversation in the air force division was “intercepted.”

“We are currently unable to say for certain whether changes were made to the recorded or transcribed version that is circulating on social media,” the official told the news agency AFP.

The ‘leaked’ audio file

Officials talking on the alleged military call appear to be discussing the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Kyiv. Ukraine has long demanded Berlin supply it with the missiles but Scholz has rejected it publicly so far.

The officials can also be heard talking about potential military targets and the training of Ukrainian soldiers.

A section of German media was later reporting that the said military conversation took place on WebEx platform, and not on a secret internal army network, making it easier for Russia to intercept.

Political temperature soars

The alleged call recording, 38-minute-long, has set the cat among the pigeons in German politics, with top political leaders expressing grave concerns.

Roderich Kiesewetter, from Germany’s opposition conservatives, warned that further recordings might also be leaked.

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, chair of the defence committee in Germany’s parliament, said the leak was an obvious warning by Russia against the delivery of weapons to Ukraine.

Russia’s reaction

Russia said the revelation reflected how Germany has turned into their “sworn enemies.”

Watch:Germany investigates Russian reports of recorded German military officials | Latest News | WION

Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy head of the Security Council, said on Telegram: “Our age-old rivals – the Germans – have again turned into our sworn enemies.”

Meanwhile, Maria Zakharova, a Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, demanded an explanation from Berlin. “Attempts to avoid answering the questions will be regarded as an admission of guilt,” she said.

(With inputs from agencies)