٠٠:١٢:٢٤RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan on Friday published the recording of a Bundeswehr meeting, where officers discussed the potential use of Taurus missiles in Ukraine.
Simonyan claimed the recording had been passed to her by Russian security services. According to German broadcaster ARD, the audio is real.
The Ministry of Defense reportedly confirmed the authenticity of the audio material although there has been no official confirmation from German authorities at the time of publication.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday that the recording 'is a very serious issue' adding that an investigation needs to be carried out.
The voices in the recording are said to belong to the Head of Operations and Exercises of the Bundeswehr Air Force Command, Frank Grefe, Air Force Inspector Ingo Gerhartz, and officers of Bundeswehr Fenske and Frostedte.
In the audio, male voices are heard discussing how Taurus missiles can be handed over to and exploited in Ukraine, planning an attack on a 'bridge in the East', and confirming the presence of UK personnel as well as people 'in US uniform' in Ukraine.
"As you have heard, Defense Minister Pistorius wants to dive deep into the issue of Taurus - but the appointment is scheduled for only 30 minutes as I have seen. We will not be able to make the thing fly, so-to-speak," one of the men said.
The officers also discussed a potential attack on a bridge, with one heard saying that the "bridge to the east is hard to get to, it's a fairly small target, but the Taurus can do it, the ammo depots can be hit, too."
"I would like to say one more thing about the destruction of the bridge. We have studied this issue intensively and, unfortunately, we have come to the conclusion that the bridge is like a runway because of its size. Therefore, it may require more than 10 or even 20 missiles," one of the officers said.
In response, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that 'our NATO colleagues have all their fingers in the pie', adding that Moscow "knows for a fact about the involvement of NATO military personnel who are disguised either as mercenaries or as people who do not belong to the armed forces of NATO countries."
"German generals are discussing how they can more cunningly supply Ukraine with long-range weapons - Taurus is mentioned there - to attack the Crimean bridge and ammunition depots. And how to do it without being noticed, because Scholz doesn't like it, but the Americans and the British are already there. And there may have been some talk about whether it was possible to remotely guide these missiles without being in Ukraine. But one of the generals said, 'you know, it will still be our direct participation [in the conflict].' So they know what they're talking about. And in one of the exchanges they just said, 'well, there are guys there in civilian clothes from the US,'" Lavrov said.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Germany is obliged to promptly provide explanations in connection with the publication of the audio recording of the talks, adding that "attempts to evade answering questions will be regarded as an admission of guilt."
Earlier, Scholz explained the refusal to transfer Taurus missiles to Kiev by saying that "if used improperly, they could hit a target somewhere in Moscow."
The German chancellor added that despite supporting Ukraine with arms, as well as economic and humanitarian aid, Berlin is committed to 'preventing the conflict from escalating into a war between Russia and NATO'.
It has not been possible to independently verify the authenticity of the recording or the identity of the speakers.
'Bridge to east is hard to get to, but Taurus can do it' - Intercepted conversation between alleged German military officials on Ukraine aid leaked
RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan on Friday published the recording of a Bundeswehr meeting, where officers discussed the potential use of Taurus missiles in Ukraine.
Simonyan claimed the recording had been passed to her by Russian security services. According to German broadcaster ARD, the audio is real.
The Ministry of Defense reportedly confirmed the authenticity of the audio material although there has been no official confirmation from German authorities at the time of publication.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday that the recording 'is a very serious issue' adding that an investigation needs to be carried out.
The voices in the recording are said to belong to the Head of Operations and Exercises of the Bundeswehr Air Force Command, Frank Grefe, Air Force Inspector Ingo Gerhartz, and officers of Bundeswehr Fenske and Frostedte.
In the audio, male voices are heard discussing how Taurus missiles can be handed over to and exploited in Ukraine, planning an attack on a 'bridge in the East', and confirming the presence of UK personnel as well as people 'in US uniform' in Ukraine.
"As you have heard, Defense Minister Pistorius wants to dive deep into the issue of Taurus - but the appointment is scheduled for only 30 minutes as I have seen. We will not be able to make the thing fly, so-to-speak," one of the men said.
The officers also discussed a potential attack on a bridge, with one heard saying that the "bridge to the east is hard to get to, it's a fairly small target, but the Taurus can do it, the ammo depots can be hit, too."
"I would like to say one more thing about the destruction of the bridge. We have studied this issue intensively and, unfortunately, we have come to the conclusion that the bridge is like a runway because of its size. Therefore, it may require more than 10 or even 20 missiles," one of the officers said.
In response, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that 'our NATO colleagues have all their fingers in the pie', adding that Moscow "knows for a fact about the involvement of NATO military personnel who are disguised either as mercenaries or as people who do not belong to the armed forces of NATO countries."
"German generals are discussing how they can more cunningly supply Ukraine with long-range weapons - Taurus is mentioned there - to attack the Crimean bridge and ammunition depots. And how to do it without being noticed, because Scholz doesn't like it, but the Americans and the British are already there. And there may have been some talk about whether it was possible to remotely guide these missiles without being in Ukraine. But one of the generals said, 'you know, it will still be our direct participation [in the conflict].' So they know what they're talking about. And in one of the exchanges they just said, 'well, there are guys there in civilian clothes from the US,'" Lavrov said.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Germany is obliged to promptly provide explanations in connection with the publication of the audio recording of the talks, adding that "attempts to evade answering questions will be regarded as an admission of guilt."
Earlier, Scholz explained the refusal to transfer Taurus missiles to Kiev by saying that "if used improperly, they could hit a target somewhere in Moscow."
The German chancellor added that despite supporting Ukraine with arms, as well as economic and humanitarian aid, Berlin is committed to 'preventing the conflict from escalating into a war between Russia and NATO'.
It has not been possible to independently verify the authenticity of the recording or the identity of the speakers.
RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan on Friday published the recording of a Bundeswehr meeting, where officers discussed the potential use of Taurus missiles in Ukraine.
Simonyan claimed the recording had been passed to her by Russian security services. According to German broadcaster ARD, the audio is real.
The Ministry of Defense reportedly confirmed the authenticity of the audio material although there has been no official confirmation from German authorities at the time of publication.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday that the recording 'is a very serious issue' adding that an investigation needs to be carried out.
The voices in the recording are said to belong to the Head of Operations and Exercises of the Bundeswehr Air Force Command, Frank Grefe, Air Force Inspector Ingo Gerhartz, and officers of Bundeswehr Fenske and Frostedte.
In the audio, male voices are heard discussing how Taurus missiles can be handed over to and exploited in Ukraine, planning an attack on a 'bridge in the East', and confirming the presence of UK personnel as well as people 'in US uniform' in Ukraine.
"As you have heard, Defense Minister Pistorius wants to dive deep into the issue of Taurus - but the appointment is scheduled for only 30 minutes as I have seen. We will not be able to make the thing fly, so-to-speak," one of the men said.
The officers also discussed a potential attack on a bridge, with one heard saying that the "bridge to the east is hard to get to, it's a fairly small target, but the Taurus can do it, the ammo depots can be hit, too."
"I would like to say one more thing about the destruction of the bridge. We have studied this issue intensively and, unfortunately, we have come to the conclusion that the bridge is like a runway because of its size. Therefore, it may require more than 10 or even 20 missiles," one of the officers said.
In response, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that 'our NATO colleagues have all their fingers in the pie', adding that Moscow "knows for a fact about the involvement of NATO military personnel who are disguised either as mercenaries or as people who do not belong to the armed forces of NATO countries."
"German generals are discussing how they can more cunningly supply Ukraine with long-range weapons - Taurus is mentioned there - to attack the Crimean bridge and ammunition depots. And how to do it without being noticed, because Scholz doesn't like it, but the Americans and the British are already there. And there may have been some talk about whether it was possible to remotely guide these missiles without being in Ukraine. But one of the generals said, 'you know, it will still be our direct participation [in the conflict].' So they know what they're talking about. And in one of the exchanges they just said, 'well, there are guys there in civilian clothes from the US,'" Lavrov said.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Germany is obliged to promptly provide explanations in connection with the publication of the audio recording of the talks, adding that "attempts to evade answering questions will be regarded as an admission of guilt."
Earlier, Scholz explained the refusal to transfer Taurus missiles to Kiev by saying that "if used improperly, they could hit a target somewhere in Moscow."
The German chancellor added that despite supporting Ukraine with arms, as well as economic and humanitarian aid, Berlin is committed to 'preventing the conflict from escalating into a war between Russia and NATO'.
It has not been possible to independently verify the authenticity of the recording or the identity of the speakers.