Germany probes possible Russian wiretapping | DW News

Germany is investigating potential Russian Espionage that’s after Russian State media published what it claims is a recording EA conversation between high ranking German Military Officers they reportedly discussed the possibility of Ukraine bombing the main Bridge linking Crimea to Russia using German cruise missiles the bridge has already been

Attacked twice since the War Began but Berlin has refused to supply ke with a longrange tourist missil cited in the transcripts of the conversation Germany defense Ministry told DW it is looking into whether its Communications were intercepted the audio’s uh authenticity is uh still yet to be officially

Confirmed so now let’s talk to DW political correspondent Emily gordin who is following this story for us uh Emily can you tell us a little bit more about what’s actually in these recordings yes so like you said I mean we don’t have any official confirmation yet but one of Germany’s public

Broadcasters has now actually reported that they are indeed real now I’ve listened to this conversation and what you hear is four officials from the from the German Armed Forces two very high ranking officials one General and the other one is the inspector of the Air Force and they are discussing or

Preparing for a meeting with the German defense minister Bas pis who wanted a deep dive into the Taurus because the Taurus Cruz Mel has been in discussion in Germany for weeks will Germany send it to Ukraine will it not and essentially in this meeting they are discussing Logistics they’re discussing

The technical side of possible deliveries they’re discussing the effects of such deliveries what could um Ukraine actually Target if it did get um these cruise missiles but they also say from the very beginning that there is no political green light for these deliveries so these are all very

Theoretical discussions now we know the defense Ministry has made some comment but anything else from the government no so so far there has not been um any public statements on the matter we know that the the the German bndes Fair the German Ed forces the defense Ministry is

Looking into the matter but of course this raises um big questions on the security of conversations and we know that in line in this conversation one of them one of the one of the people in this in this call was someone was um a general who was at the time in um in

Singapore at the it was a big air show there and um apparently they are said to have used the platform webx which is not particularly safe it is not a safe place to discuss um matters that are of such such sensitive nature and um so it raises a question of the security of

Conversations and how they are dealt with but um we’ve also heard from opposition uh figures in the G in the German political landscape who say that this also suggests that you know what other conversations could be listened to by the Russians totally now how does this release of this uh audio impact

Potentially Germany’s potential future decisions in terms of giving the ukrainians that tourist they so badly want well the content of this conversation seriously challenges the argument that Chancellor Ola schz has been making for not sending tourist missiles to Ukraine essentially Chancellor Olaf Schulz has said in the

Past that um Jimmy does will not send these missiles to Ukraine because a it could uh they could strike targets within Russia and B it would need um German Personnel on the ground in Ukraine helping ukrainians program the missiles now in this conversation in this taped conversation um they

Basically say well actually it would not require German soldiers on the ground in Ukraine and that questioned you know and that obviously questions a a main premise from Chancellor Olaf Schultz in not delivering these weapons so uh it raises a lot of questions it also raises the question of um did Chancellor Olaf

Schulz know what he was saying there or was he just trying to find an argument for not sending them so essentially this does put the question of tourist deliveries up in the air a little bit very interesting Emily gordin thank you so much for joining us let’s talk to DW’s Eastern Europe

Editor Roman goer Eno who joins us now from the German city of Bon Roman what’s actually on the recording well what we can hear we cannot verify it of course and we cannot say uh uh if whole tape is uh this recording is authentic or maybe some

Parts were doctored so what we hear is um there are four um high-ranking German officers including one General discussing the possible delivery of the tourist missiles to Ukraine they explicitly say that there is no political decision on that but just in case there is one uh they are preparing

How this could be done so they are talking about um um how long it would take how many months uh how many missiles could be delivered to Ukraine the possible ways to deliver them uh and of course they are also discussing some targets they are mentioning a bridge

They don’t say it’s a Crimean bridge but it must be it um U there is no other important Bridge uh at at War uh at the war zone at the moment uh and ammunition depos so they say how many missiles could be needed to destroy um that

Bridge uh it is important to know that that bridge is on ukrainians soil so Ukraine has all the right to hit it with any missiles it has now Russia released these mystery recordings on the same day navali was buried uh that a coincidence and and what’s Russia playing

Here well some um some guessed that it might be an attempt to distract attention from that funeral but um if it was so that attempt um has failed completely because all Western media were were full with coverage of of nal’s funeral um as for Russia itself I don’t

Think Russia was the target the target was the Western audience that’s why it was the Russian International uh media Outlet um RT that published that recording so um the the reasons for for for Russian authorities to do that must be different now um does this leak this unauthenticated leak changeed the

Discussion on the Taurus of course German Chancellor Olaf Schulz has uh put deliveries of the Taurus to Ukraine off the table yes so it is a very unusual move uh for for Russia to publish that uh such information and uh my guess is the only reason is that Russia is very much

Afraid of those tourist missiles that they’re very effective and Russia wants to do anything it can to stop a possible delivery and it even doesn’t believe uh the German Chancellor ol of Schultz who who ruled out such a delivery so they are probably thinking um that by publish

In that recording that will undermine the political discussion in Germany they will put more pressure on Chancellor Schultz and which is also important I think that might also put some pressure inside NATO because just a few days ago there were um uh there were um talks about uh delivering Taurus missiles and

Ola Schultz said a few words about that and he said no then there was the French President Emanuel macron talking about sending troops to Ukraine um and um there is no unity in that question within NATO within Germany and France so by publishing this recording uh the Russians are probably trying to

Stir the discussion within NATO not just within Germany DW’s Eastern Europe editor Roman gurenko thank you very much

Germany is investigating potential Russian espionage. That’s after Russian state-media published what it claims is a recording of a conversation between high-ranking German military officers. They reportedly discuss the possibility of Ukraine bombing the main bridge linking Crimea to Russia, using German cruise missiles. The bridge has already been attacked twice since the war began, but Berlin has refused to supply Kyiv with the long-range Taurus missiles cited in unverified transcripts of the conversation. Germany’s Defence Ministry told DW it is looking into whether its communications were intercepted. The audio’s authenticy has yet to be confirmed.

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30 comments

  1. wow!! even Baghdad Bob would blush at saying what the reporter said, ~ quote "It's not official but a German broadcast company has reported it's real" and the Chancellor confirmed it's real….

  2. Final Settlement AGREEMENT with respect to Germany (1990)

    Article 1

    1. The united Germany will include the territories of the German Democratic Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany and the whole of Berlin. Its external borders will finally become the borders of the GDR and the FRG from the date of entry into force of this Treaty. The confirmation of the final character of the borders of a united Germany is an essential part of the peaceful order in Europe.

    2. The United Germany and the Republic of Poland confirm the existing border between them in a treaty that is binding in accordance with international law.

    3. The united Germany has no territorial claims against other States and will not make such claims in the future either.

    4. The Governments of the GDR and the FRG will ensure that the Constitution of the united Germany does not contain any provisions contrary to these principles. Accordingly, this applies to the provisions set out in the preamble, in the second sentence of article 23 and in article 146 of the Basic Law of Germany.

    5. The Governments of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the French Republic officially take note of the relevant commitments and statements of the Governments of the GDR and the FRG and declare that with their implementation the final character of the borders of the united Germany will be confirmed.

    Article 2

    The governments of the GDR and Germany confirm their statements that only peace will come from German soil. According to the Constitution of the united Germany, actions that can and aim to disrupt peace between peoples, especially preparations for an offensive war, are unconstitutional and punishable. The Governments of the GDR and Germany declare that a united Germany will never use the weapons it possesses, except in accordance with its constitution and the UN Charter.

    Article 3

    1. The Governments of the GDR and the FRG confirm their renunciation of the production, possession and disposal of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. They declare that a united Germany will also adhere to these commitments. In particular, the rights and obligations arising from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons of July 1, 1968, continue to apply to the united Germany.

    2. The Government of Germany and the Government of the GDR made the following statement on August 30, 1990 in Vienna at the negotiations on conventional armed forces in Europe:

    "The German government undertakes to reduce the armed forces of the united Germany within 3-4 years to the number of 370,000 people (land forces, air force and naval forces). This reduction should begin with the entry into force of the first treaty on conventional armed forces in Europe. Within this cumulative upper limit, no more than 345,000 people will be included in the ground forces and air forces, which, in accordance with the agreed mandate, are the only subject of negotiations on conventional armed forces in Europe. The German Government sees in its commitment to reduce the land and air forces a significant German contribution to the reduction of conventional armed forces in Europe. It proceeds from the fact that in subsequent negotiations, other participants will also contribute to strengthening security and stability in Europe, including measures to limit the number of troops."

    The GDR Government fully aligned itself with this statement.

    3. The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the USA, the USSR, and the French Republic take note of these statements by the Governments of the GDR and the FRG.

    Article 4

    1. The Governments of the USSR, the GDR and the FRG declare that the USSR and the united Germany will settle by agreement the conditions and terms of the stay of Soviet troops in the territory of the present GDR and Berlin, as well as the implementation of the withdrawal of these troops, which will be completed by the end of 1994, in conjunction with the implementation of the obligations of the Governments of the GDR and the FRG, set out in paragraph 2 of Article 3 of this Agreement.

    2. The Governments of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America and the French Republic take note of this statement.

    Article 5

    1. Until the completion of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the territory of the present GDR and Berlin, in accordance with Article 4 of this Treaty, exclusively German territorial defense formations, not integrated into allied structures, to which German armed forces are attached to the rest of German territory, will be deployed in this territory as the armed forces of a united Germany. Subject to the settlement contained in paragraph 2 of this article, the troops of other States will not be stationed in this territory or carry out other military activities there during this period.

    2. For the duration of the stay of Soviet troops in the territory of the present GDR and Berlin, the troops of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America and the French Republic will, in accordance with the wishes of the German side, on the basis of an appropriate contractual settlement between the Government of the united Germany and the Governments of these States, continue to be stationed in Berlin. The number of personnel and the number of weapons of all non-German troops stationed in Berlin will not be greater than at the time of signing this Agreement. New categories of weapons will not be introduced there by the German armed forces. The Government of the united Germany will conclude agreements with the Governments of the States that have deployed troops in Berlin on fair terms, taking into account the relations existing with these States.

    3. After the completion of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the territory of the present GDR and Berlin, formations of the German armed forces may also be located in this part of Germany, attached to military allied structures in the same way as formations in the rest of German territory, but without nuclear weapons carriers. This does not apply to conventional weapons systems, which may have other abilities besides conventional ones, but which in this part of Germany are equipped for a conventional role and are intended only for such. Foreign troops and nuclear weapons or their carriers will not be stationed in this part of Germany and deployed there.

    Article 6

    The right of the united Germany to participate in the unions, with all the rights and obligations arising from this, is not affected by this Treaty.

    Article 7

    1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States, the USSR and the French Republic hereby terminate their rights and responsibilities with respect to Berlin and Germany as a whole. As a result, the relevant quadrilateral agreements, decisions and practices related to them are terminated and all relevant institutions of the four Powers are dissolved.

    2. In accordance with this, the united Germany acquires full sovereignty over its internal and external affairs.

    Article 8

    1. This Treaty is subject to ratification or acceptance as soon as possible. The ratification on the German side is carried out by the united Germany. This Treaty is thus valid for a united Germany.

    2. Instruments of ratification or acceptance shall be deposited with the Government of the united Germany. It shall inform the Governments of the other Contracting Parties of the deposit of each instrument of ratification or acceptance.

    Article 9

    This Treaty shall enter into force for the United Germany, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States, the USSR and the French Republic on the date of deposit by these States of the last instrument of ratification or acceptance.

    Article 10

    The original of this Agreement, the texts of which in English, German, Russian and French are equally valid, shall be deposited with the Government of Germany, which will transmit certified copies to the Governments of the other Contracting Parties.

    In witness whereof the undersigned, duly authorized, have signed this Agreement.

    Done in Moscow on September 12, 1990

  3. Russia is currently working on the denunciation of the treaty "On the final settlement in relation to Germany" of 1990. Canceling the reunification of Germany and Russia's obligations to it

  6. ”Russia is a vast country, the biggest in the world. But with Ukraine, it is an empire again." – Vladimir Putin. DJT, BloodyHands Shammity & FOX-GOP-NRA are helping Putin reconstitute the Soviet empire. So much for, and so long to, Ronald Reagan's historic gains…

  8. This should all be taken with a grain of salt until tech nerds are able to determine whether the voices could potentially be AI generated.

  10. I can’t help but think we would all be better of aligning ourselves with Russia rather than America. America has cut off our gas supplies so they can control us, they have used other intelligence agencies to spy on our politicians and the worst part is we see so much American culture leaching in and lowering our standards. We need independence and we are more likely to get that by distancing ourselves from America a leaning to partner with Russia.

  12. Western countires used to be led by wise leaders but i do not know hat went wrong. How can some think about weapons and hatred as a way of sustaining peace?

  16. And of course Germany blocked the vote for an independent investigation into the Nord Stream terror attack.
    This current government has undone and deliberately destroyed everything that Germans have worked hard to build up over the past 70 years.
    I am truly ashamed of this government and their state media accomplices.
    Also there was no further investigation into the US eavesdropping on Chancellor Merkels phone. The amount of double standards is simply breathtaking.

  25. It's incredible how media is trying to spin from the fact that Germans were plotting an attack on Russia…

  28. The Taurus is just as overrated as all the other western missiles that have failed in Ukraine. A range of around 500 km when Russia has the sarmat missile that can hit anywhere in the world. DW is a clown show!

  29. Public Don't Want Wars.
    US+NATO is Disinformation deliberately deceptive and propagated information Designed to keep "Never Ending Wars
    and Bribs"alive to Support INCOME from Stocks Market and Income for Crooked politicians.

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