Germany says it will investigate after a recording leaked of a conversation between several top-ranking German officers on the country's Ukraine war strategy.
During the conversation, posted online by the head of Russia's state-backed RT channel, Margarita Simonyan, air force officers discuss the possible delivery of Taurus weapon systems to Ukraine as well as the potential targeting of the Kerch Bridge, which connects the annexed Crimean peninsula to mainland Russia.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the leak a "very serious matter."
"It will now be investigated very carefully, very intensively, and very quickly," Scholz promised while on a visit to Rome on Saturday.
A spokesperson of the German Defense Ministry confirmed to CNN the recording was authentic.
"According to our assessment, a conversation in the air force sector has been intercepted. We are currently unable to say with certainty whether changes have been made to the recorded or written version circulating on social networks."
The audio discussion centers around providing air force support for the delivery of long-range Taurus missiles, as well as how the systems could be used by Ukraine, with one officer speaking of a "long" and "short" path to implementation.
Germany has been resisting sending the weapons to Kyiv, fearing they could be used for attacks on Russian territory.
Officers can be heard discussing the potential targeting of the Kerch bridge using Taurus missiles, with one stating that the Taurus has the potential to reach the bridge despite it being a difficult target, as well as ammunition depots.
Moscow said it was seeking answers over the recording.
"We demand explanations from Germany. Official Berlin has to provide them promptly. Any attempts to evade answering questions will be viewed as an admission of guilt," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on her Telegram channel Friday.
The audio has caused alarm among German politicians.
Roberich Kiesewetter of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) told public broadcaster ZDF that a "number of other conversations will certainly have been intercepted" and could be leaked at a later date, Deutsche Welle reported.
CNN
