Kremlin says German leak shows 'involvement' of West in Ukraine
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Dmitry Peskov explained that leaked recordings regarding an attack on the Crimean Bridge suggest Germany is "discussing... plans to strike Russian territory."
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Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov attends a news conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin following the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan in September 2022. (Sputnik)
The leaked German military recordings regarding an attack on the Crimean Bridge connecting mainland Russia to Crimea demonstrate Western involvement in the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Monday.
The German Bundeswehr was planning to destroy the Crimean Bridge, the same one Ukraine admitted to bombing, with possible involvement from US and British troops - or so claims the editor-in-chief of Russia Today, Margarita Simonyan, citing a nearly 40-minute leaked audio she says she possesses.
The leak, which is 38 minutes long and dated February 19, reveals officers discussing the operational and targeting details of the homegrown Taurus long-range missiles, which Germany was mulling sending to Ukraine. Interestingly, the way it was being discussed insinuated that it had already been agreed upon.
The officers were also discussing means of maintaining plausible deniability so that Germany could tread as closely as possible to the "red line" of direct involvement without crossing it.
The discussions "once again highlight the direct involvement of the collective West in the conflict in Ukraine," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated.
Peskov explained that the leaked recordings suggest Germany is "discussing substantively and specifically plans to strike Russian territory."
Peskov's words came as German Ambassador Alexander Graf Lambsdorff was attending a meeting at Moscow's foreign ministry, which demanded clarification for the recording.
According to Russian news outlets, Graf Lambsdorff departed the ministry without any comments.
Germany's foreign ministry revealed that Graf Lambsdorff attended "a long-planned meeting at the Russian foreign ministry."
Boris Pistorius, the German Defense Minister accused Russia Sunday of undertaking an "information war" explaining that this was intended to "reinforce the legend, the fairy tale that we are working on a war against Russia, which is completely absurd."
The German Defense Minister stated that the senior German commanders' conversation does not indicate a "green light" for the shipment of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
"The officers were doing what they were here to do: they were thinking about different scenarios, without making plans in any way. There should be no doubt: this did not and does not mean a green light for the use of Taurus missiles — neither from [German] Chancellor [Olaf Scholz] nor from me," Pistorius said.
Leaked German recording could deepen NATO rift: WSJ
According to The Wall Street Journal, the leaked German recording might provoke an internal dispute between Berlin and its NATO partners.
One WSJ source expressed that the leak should serve as a "Wake-up call" for Berlin.
Aside from the employment of Taurus missiles, German authorities purportedly acknowledged the presence of foreign military personnel in Ukraine, who were there to assist Kiev in operating weaponry supplied by Western nations. Russian officials have stated that the presence of Western service members in Ukraine is "no secret."
The WSJ called the tape "a propaganda win for the Kremlin," warning that it might strain relations between Germany and other NATO members. According to the report, this also reduces the likelihood of Taurus missiles being sent to Ukraine.
According to reports, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is still opposed to supplying Taurus missiles to Kiev, warning that doing so may intensify the crisis.
Ever since the beginning of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, Germany has aided Ukraine with Leopard tanks and IRIS-T air defense systems, while Britain and France provided the country with Storm Shadow and Scalp cruise missiles.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed that the leak is proof Ukraine and its supporters "do not want to change their course at all, and want to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield."
Maria Zakharova, the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, remarked that if Germany did not "promptly" provide an explanation for the talks, this would be considered "an admission of guilt."
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram that the Germans have "again turned into our sworn enemies."
