Russian spies did not breach Germany’s communication systems to obtain audio of top officers discussing Taurus cruise missiles potentially being supplied to Ukraine—instead, a military officer had made the mistake of using an insecure line from a Singapore hotel, Germany’s defense minister said.
“Our communication systems were not compromised,” Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Tuesday, apparently seeking to dispel concerns of a breach in military communications. He told reporters at a press conference that he was “very irritated” by the incident, as it distracted from more serious issues facing Ukraine as it struggles to fend off Russia’s invasion.
But he admitted that a “bad mistake” had been made, saying that “something like this should not have happened.” Earlier, he called the leaked audio a “hybrid disinformation attack” by Moscow.
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German authorities have verified the authenticity of the recording, in which four military officers discuss—in hypothetical terms—how Taurus missiles could be used if they were supplied to Ukraine. But they say Moscow took the conversation out of context in order to drive a wedge between Ukraine’s allies in the West.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has so far refused to send Ukraine the missiles, warning that “if used incorrectly, [Taurus missiles] could reach a target in Moscow.”
The 38-minute audio recording was leaked over the weekend by one of Vladimir Putin’s top allies in Russian state-run media, RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan. The Kremlin’s propaganda machine had a field day with the leaked recording, accusing Germany of plotting to blow up the Crimean Bridge and touting the audio as proof that Western forces are directly involved in the war.
On Monday, Germany’s ambassador to Russia, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, was badgered by a swarm of state TV reporters as he visited Russia’s Foreign Ministry, with Moscow later releasing footage of the kerfuffle to declare that “such actions” will not go unanswered “without our harsh response.”
