Germany’s defence minister has accused Russia of conducting an “information war” aimed at creating divisions within the country, in his first comments after the publication of an audio recording of a meeting of senior German military officials.
Russian media on Friday published a 38-minute recording of a call in which German officers were heard discussing weapons for Ukraine and a potential strike by Kyiv on a bridge in Crimea, prompting officials in Moscow to demand an explanation.
On Saturday, Germany called it an apparent act of eavesdropping and said it was investigating.
“The incident is much more than just the interception and publication of a conversation … It is part of an information war that Putin is waging,” defence minister Boris Pistorius said on Sunday.
“It is a hybrid disinformation attack. It is about division. It is about undermining our unity.”
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied accusations of spreading false or misleading information when faced with allegations from other countries. On Friday, a Russian foreign ministry spokesperson said the country was demanding an “explanation from Germany,” without detailing its particular concerns.
On the leaked call, participants discuss the possible delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Kyiv, which Chancellor Olaf Scholz has so far publicly rejected.
Kyiv has long been asking Germany to provide it with Taurus missiles, which can reach targets up to 500km away.
The discussions also covered the use of long-range missiles provided to Kyiv by France and Britain – and the training of Ukrainian soldiers.
With the war in Ukraine in its third year, Kyiv has ramped up its pleas for more military support from allies. On the frontlines, its soldiers are outgunned and outnumbered and ammunition shortages are being felt.
On Saturday, Scholz called the potential leak “very serious” and said it was “now being clarified very carefully, very intensively and very quickly”.
Germany’s ARD broadcaster described the leak as a “catastrophe” for the German secret services. According to Der Spiegel magazine, the video conference was held on the WebEx platform, and not on a secret internal army network.
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said on Sunday the recording indicated that Berlin was preparing to fight Moscow.
Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
