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German soldiers with the “Taurus” weapon system: “Serious matter”
Photo: Tobias Schwarz / AFP
After Russian state media published an allegedly intercepted conversation between Bundeswehr officers about the Taurus cruise missile, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) announced that he wanted to have the incident cleared up “quickly”.
"What is being reported there is a very serious matter," said the Chancellor on Saturday during a visit to Rome.
"And that's why this is now being clarified very carefully, very intensively and very quickly and that is also necessary."
The Chancellor was reacting to a 38-minute recording in which a conversation between four German officers can be heard.
The editor-in-chief of the Russian state broadcaster RT, formerly known as Russia Today, Margarita Simonyan, published the recording on Friday.
The conversation is about the possible use of German Taurus cruise missiles by Ukrainian armed forces and its possible consequences.
Among other things, the soldiers discussed whether the bridge that connects the Crimean peninsula with the Russian mainland could be hit.
Scholz excludes delivery
As SPIEGEL reported, the officers did not speak over a secure line, but rather over the Webex platform.
After an initial analysis, it is assumed internally that the recording is authentic.
The Taurus cruise missile flies hundreds of kilometers and can destroy bunkers and other well-secured facilities such as ammunition depots or command posts.
Ukraine has been demanding delivery of this weapon for months, which, despite criticism, also excludes Scholz from the ranks of the traffic light coalition.
Strack-Zimmermann warns against naivety
FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, meanwhile, called for better precautions against espionage.
“It must finally be an end to our naivety,” said the chairwoman of the Defense Committee in the Bundestag to the Editorial Network Germany (RND).
Cyber attacks, espionage and disinformation have increased massively.
"We urgently need to increase our security and counterintelligence because we are obviously vulnerable in this area."
more on the subject
Audio of a sensitive meeting leaked in Russia: MAD is investigating suspected espionage in the BundeswehrBy Matthias Gebauer
Weapons for Ukraine: Scholz justifies rejection of Taurus delivery
Supporting the Russian Regime:The Women Behind PutinBy Solveig Grothe
Strack-Zimmermann said espionage is “part of Russia’s hybrid warfare toolbox.”
It is neither surprising nor surprising that conversations are being intercepted.
"It was only a matter of time before it became public." Strack-Zimmermann sees one reason for publishing the recording now in the fact that Russia wants to deter Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) from giving Taurus the green light give
gro/dpa/AFP