Germany accused on Sunday Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to sow disunity with the wiretap leak of a confidential German Army discussion on the Ukraine war, at a time when Berlin is under pressure to supply the Taurus missile to Kyiv.
A 38-minute recording of the talks was posted online late Friday on Russian social media, with the participants discussing the possible use of German-made Taurus missiles and their potential impact.
The discussions also covered the use of long-range missiles provided to Kyiv by France and Britain.
“It is about using this recording to destabilize and unsettle us,” said German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, adding that he “hoped that Putin will not succeed.”
Pistorius said he was not aware of any further leaks at the Army and added that he would await the result of a military probe into the case before drawing any conclusions.
Kyiv has long been clamoring for Germany to provide it with Taurus missiles, which can reach targets up to 500 kilometers (about 300 miles) away.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has so far refused to send the missiles, fearing that it would lead to an escalation of the conflict with a nuclear-armed Russia.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy head of the Security Council, said on Sunday: “Germany is preparing for war with Russia.”
Speaking at a diplomatic forum in Turkey on Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the recording indicated that Ukraine and its backers “do not want to change their course at all and want to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield.”
With politicians in Germany urging answers over the wiretap, Pistorius warned that the leak is “part of an information war that Putin is carrying out.”
“We should not fall for Putin’s line,” he said.
With AFP
