Kremlin responds to German military ‘Crimean Bridge attack’ leak
The leaked recording of German military officials discussing a possible strike on the Crimean Bridge is further proof that the West, and Berlin in particular, are pursuing a hostile policy toward Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan last week released a transcript and audio recording of what was claimed to be a conversation between four senior German military officials. The latter are heard discussing plans to hand over Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine in a way that would help them avoid accusations of direct involvement in the conflict.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Peskov stressed that German officials “de-facto” discussed strikes on the Crimean Bridge, noting that Moscow had already summoned the German ambassador to Russia, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, to lodge a protest over the recording.
The audio, the spokesman continued, underscores that “plans to launch strikes on Russian territory are being substantively and specifically discussed within the Bundeswehr,” adding that there was no doubt about the significance of this revelation.
He stated that Russia was looking forward to learning the results of the probe into the incident announced by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Moscow, he added, is very curious to find out whether such discussions took place on the Bundeswehr’s own accord, which could raise the question of whether the German government is really in control of its military.
Another possibility, according to Peskov, could be that the discussion was in line with Germany’s foreign policy. “Both possibilities are really bad. They both once again confirm the direct involvement of… the so-called collective West in the conflict around Ukraine.”
The German Defense Ministry has confirmed that the conversation was in fact intercepted, while Scholz has called it a “very serious matter,” saying it would be thoroughly investigated.
Meanwhile, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius attempted to sidestep the controversy by accusing Russia of waging an “information war” and undermining Western unity. His comments came as the Wall Street Journal suggested that the leak makes the delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine even less likely. Scholz had earlier been reluctant to approve the shipment, warning that it could escalate the conflict.
