RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan published a transcript of the conversation between senior Bundeswehr officers discussing the matter, followed by a 38-minute audio recording.
Margarita Simonyan posted the transcript of the February 19 phone call on her VK page, identifying the participants as the head of the German air force (Luftwaffe), General Ingo Gerhartz, the branch’s deputy chief of staff for operations, Brigadier-General Frank Graefe, and two others. Soon afterward, Simonyan published the audio recording of the discussion as well, in German, on her Telegram channel.
The officers discussed the operational and targeting details of Taurus long-range missiles that Germany was debating sending to Ukraine, as if this had already been agreed upon – and how to maintain plausible deniability so that Germany could avoid crossing the “red line” of direct involvement.
Gerhartz brought up various “tricks” that the Luftwaffe could use, including relying on “many people [in Ukraine] in civilian clothes who speak with an American accent”, but Graefe insisted that “there is no language that makes us a party to the conflict.”
Other officers spoke about providing the Ukrainians with both the missiles and the training to use them, as well as the satellite targeting information, possibly via Poland.
The Germans noted the Ukrainians’ fixation on the Crimean Bridge, mainly for political reasons. They noted that the bridge was sturdy enough that not even 20 missiles would be able to destroy it. The 50 or so missiles Berlin could provide Kiev – in batches – “won’t change the course of the war”, Gerhartz himself admitted.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in a statement said,
“We demand an explanation from Germany. Official Berlin must provide it immediately. Attempts to dodge the question will be considered an admission of guilt”.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that NATO had “egg on its face” due to the recording. He also noted that the German officers knew perfectly well that they were discussing direct involvement, as evidenced by attempts to disguise or hide it, and highlighted the part about Americans operating in Ukraine.
Speaker of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin said the legislature will address the recording when it reconvenes on March 11. The matter “deserves the most serious discussion” and Moscow certainly needs to “send a demand to the Bundestag to conduct an investigation”, he added.
Germans have “once again turned into our archenemies”, said former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. “Just take a look at how thoroughly and in what detail the Krauts are discussing long-range missile strikes on Russia’s territory, and are picking out targets and the most workable ways to harm our Motherland and our people.” He ended his post with the WWII-era slogan, “Death to the Fascists!”
When asked about the recording and the transcript on Friday, the Pentagon declined to comment, telling American reporters to reach out to the German military instead.
Meanwhile, Germany’s Federal Office for Military Counterintelligence (BAMAD) has initiated an investigation into how the recording got out, with a preliminary probe indicating its authenticity, according to multiple German media reports.
Berlin has yet to confirm the authenticity of discussions between German officers about helping Ukraine to attack a bridge in Russia, but a preliminary probe indicates the recording is genuine, according to German media reports.
The leaked audio file is widely circulating in the Bundeswehr and is currently “classified as authentic”, Germany’s Welt newspaper wrote on March 1, 2024 evening, citing “several soldiers” who have studied the recording.
Spiegel also wrote that after the first analysis “the recording is classified as authentic”, noting that German counterintelligence immediately launched a probe into the matter and that “according to an initial assessment, AI-supported counterfeiting is largely ruled out”.
The German Defense Ministry has refused to address the contents of the communications, but acknowledged in a brief statement to the German press that the military was “checking whether communications within the Air Force were intercepted”.
