Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova revealed that Russia is ready to expel all German journalists from the country in the wake of a leaked conversation between German military officers. In the leaked audio, officers discussed Taurus long-range missile deliveries to Ukraine, the training of Ukrainian forces, and a possible strike by Kyiv on a bridge in Crimea. Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of Kremlin-controlled TV channel RT, published the leak.
German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, promised a full investigation of this act of potential espionage. “The incident is much more than just the interception and publication of a conversation … It is part of an information war that Putin is waging,” Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Sunday, “It is a hybrid disinformation attack. It is about division. It is about undermining our unity.” According to Der Spiegel magazine, the video conference was held on WebEx, and not on an encrypted, private internal army network. Scholz referred to the leak as “very serious” and said it was “now being clarified very carefully, very intensively, and very quickly”.
Roderich Kiesewetter, a member of German parliament, is quoted saying “Russia is of course showing how heavily it uses espionage and sabotage as part of the hybrid war. It is to be expected that much more was intercepted and leaked in order to influence decisions, discredit and manipulate people.”
If Germany removes Russian journalists, Russia will not hesitate to retaliate. “If they touch Russian correspondents,” German journalists will be expelled from the country and the German government knows “about this through diplomatic channels in Berlin,” Zakharova stated this morning. Russian authorities do not take kindly to what they believe is Western “meddling” in their affairs.
Zakharova stated on Telegram that she wants an explanation from Germany regarding the discussion of Ukrainian military operations in Crimea. “Official Berlin is obliged to provide them promptly,” Zakharova said, “Attempts to avoid answering questions will be considered an admission of guilt.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the leaked recording proved the “cunning plans” of the German armed forces and called the contents of the recording “blatant self-exposure,” Reuters reported.
The Russian Foreign Ministry reportedly summoned the German Ambassador to Russia, Alexander Lambsdorf, on March 4th in relation to the leak.
