Leaked audio obtained by Russian spies reveals Germany thought of giving Ukraine missiles to destroy key Crimean bridge: WSJ

Leaked audio obtained by Russian spies reveals Germany thought of giving Ukraine missiles to destroy key Crimean bridge: WSJ

• Russian spies recorded a dialog involving prime German army officers, WSJ reported.
• The officers had been discussing plans to ship Ukraine missiles that might destroy the Crimean bridge.
• That very goal is likely one of the essential causes Germany has been reluctant to supply the missiles.

Leaked audio obtained by Russian spies and later broadcast by the Russian state-controlled information community RT on Friday reveals that prime German officers had been discussing plans to probably ship Ukraine long-range missiles that may take out the important thing Crimean bridge.

Senior German officers confirmed the authenticity of the audio to The Wall Street Journal.

The audio pertained to a gathering held in February, throughout which Germany’s prime air power chief, Gen. Ingo Gerhartz, gathered his aides to organize a presentation for the nation’s protection minister. The presentation was supposed to stipulate how Germany might ship the Taurus, a long-range guided missile, to Ukraine and what number of missiles it might take to destroy the Kerch Bridge, The Journal reported.

The missiles have been one among Ukraine’s key asks to Germany. The Taurus has a protracted vary of about 310 miles, in keeping with MBDA, a European missile producer, and stealth functionality that may keep away from radar detection, permitting for the focusing on of extra advanced infrastructure akin to a bridge.

But it is also the highest motive German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been reluctant — a lot to the frustration of some officers in Scholz’s cupboard and the conservative opposition — to supply Ukraine with the weapons.

The Taurus is a "very far-reaching weapon," Scholz stated on Monday at a convention hosted by the German information company dpa, in keeping with The Associated Press. The chancellor argued that the weapons system was pointless and expressed concern that it might escalate the struggle.

The leaked audio doesn’t verify that Germany was definitively going to ship Taurus missiles to Ukraine. The leak could have additional jeopardized any probability that Ukraine will acquire the weapons, analysts stated, in keeping with The Journal.

In the dialog, army officers had been contemplating how they may ship the Taurus to Ukraine, how lengthy it might take to coach Ukrainian troopers to function the missile, and what number of missiles Germany ought to ship, The Journal reported.

Officials, in keeping with the report, additionally could be heard acknowledging that the Taurus can take out the Crimean bridge — a key provide line for Russia — and that it might take 10 to twenty missiles to evade Russia’s protection system and destroy the infrastructure.

"There isn’t any actual motive to say we will not do that; it solely is dependent upon the political purple traces," Gerhartz is heard saying within the audio, in keeping with The Journal. The normal additionally could be heard saying that Germany shouldn’t ship greater than 100 missiles, as it might not assist Ukraine observe up with a floor offensive, in keeping with the report.

The Kremlin expressed outrage at Germany following the audio leak.

"We demand explanations from Germany," Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson, informed TASS, the Russian state information company. "Any makes an attempt to evade answering questions can be seen as an act of contrition."

Spokespersons for the German protection ministry and the Chancellor’s workplace didn’t reply to a request for remark despatched through the weekend.

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March 3, 2024 at 01:51AM