A German military officer used an unsecured phone line at a Singapore hotel to join a conference call that was hacked by the Russians and leaked to the public, Germany’s defense minister said on Tuesday.
The release of a leaked audio recording of four high-ranking German air force officers hypothetically discussing how Kiev could use Taurus cruise missiles against Russian aggressors has embarrassed the German government and raised tensions between the two countries. also increased. .
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters in Berlin about the initial results of the ongoing investigation that “not all participants followed the safe call procedures as intended.”
The minister said the officer in question, who he did not name, was attending an air show in Singapore attended by high-ranking military officers from across Europe, and then called WebEx using his mobile phone. Hotel Wi-Fi but not secure line as it is considered mandatory for such calls.
“For the Russian secret services, this was a real find. … Targeted hacking took place in hotels that were used around the world,” Pistorius said. “Therefore, it must be assumed that access to this (telephone) conference was part of a broad and scattered approach.”
Pistorius said the investigation is ongoing, general security has been increased and preliminary disciplinary proceedings are being considered, but serious personal consequences are unlikely.
“I will not sacrifice any of my best officers to Putin’s games,” he said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The 38-minute audio clip was released on social media by Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of Russian state broadcaster RT, on Friday, the same day Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was laid to rest after two as-yet-unknown deaths. a week ago at the Arctic Correctional Colony. This recording was published a few weeks before the Russian presidential election.
While German officials have not questioned the authenticity of the recording, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said last week that transferring the weapons to Ukraine was not an option and that he did not want Germany to be directly involved in the war.
However, the Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday threatened Germany with “unpleasant consequences” in connection with the disclosure of this information. He did not explain it in detail.
Relations between the two countries have been permanently strained since Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago.
In the leaked audio, four officers, including the head of the German Air Force, Ingo Gerhartz, can be heard discussing scenarios for deploying Taurus missiles in Ukraine before meeting with Pistorius.
The officers said that early delivery and rapid deployment of Taurus missiles will be possible only with the participation of German soldiers. The officers said that it is possible to train Ukrainian soldiers to deploy the Taurus, but it will take months.
The record also shows that the German government did not authorize the delivery of cruise missiles requested by Ukraine.
Pistorius said on Tuesday that while the damage from the leaks was severe, “the mistake is still being dealt with and we must now turn our attention to more important tasks”, such as how Germany and its allies can help Ukraine fight Russia. . .
Pistorius noted that while the damage from the actual content of the leaked audio was “manageable”, Russia’s real success was that it set the agenda for what was being discussed in Germany, and “that’s exactly what Putin wants to do.” get it.”
