RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan published on March 1 a transcript and a recording of a conversation between senior German officials discussing a plot to directly help Ukraine attack the Crimean bridge in Russia with German-made Taurus cruise missiles.
Simonyan first published the transcript of the phone call, which took place on February 19, on her VK page, identifying the participants as the head of the German Air Force, General Ingo Gerhartz, the branch’s deputy chief of staff for operations, Brigadier General Frank Graefe and two others. Soon after, she shared a 38-minute audio recording of the discussion as well, in German, on her Telegram channel.
In the conversation, the German officers discussed the operational and targeting details of Taurus missiles that Germany was debating sending to Ukraine and how to maintain plausible deniability so that Berlin could avoid crossing the “red line” of direct involvement.
Gerhartz brought up various “tricks” that the Luftwaffe could use, including relying on “many people [in Ukraine] in civilian clothes who speak with an American accent,” but Graefe insisted that “there is no language that makes us a party to the conflict.”
Other officers spoke about providing the Ukrainians with both the missiles and the training to use them, as well as the satellite targeting information, possibly via Poland.
The officers noted the Ukrainians’ fixation on the Crimean Bridge, mainly for political reasons. They noted that the bridge was sturdy enough that not even 20 missiles would be able to destroy it. The 50 or so missiles Berlin could provide Kiev “won’t change the course of the war,” Gerhartz himself admitted.
The Taurus is a Swedish-German low-observable, air-launched cruise missile that is manufactured in Germany by Taurus Systems.
The missile utilizes a GPS-aided inertial navigation system backed by a terrain contour matching system. The same thermographic camera used for terrain navigation helps the missile home on its target during final approach using image matching.
The double 500-kilogram warhead of the missile features a precharge and initial penetrating charge that are designed to defeat hardened underground targets.
Berlin has yet to confirm the authenticity of the leaked discussions between German officers, but a preliminary probe indicates the recording is genuine.
The leaked audio file is widely circulating in the German military and is currently “classified as authentic,” Germany’s Welt newspaper reported on March 1, citing “several soldiers” who have studied the recording.
Spiegel also reported that after the first analysis “the recording is classified as authentic,” noting that German counterintelligence immediately launched a probe into the matter and that “according to an initial assessment, AI-supported counterfeiting is largely ruled out.”
Meanwhile, the German Defense Ministry has refused to address the contents of the communications, but acknowledged in a brief statement that the military was “checking whether communications within the Air Force were intercepted.”
Reacting to the German plot, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that officials in Berlin should provide an explanation “immediately”.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that NATO had “egg on its face” due to the leak. The minister also noted that the German officers knew perfectly well that they were discussing direct involvement, as evidenced by attempts to disguise or hide it.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that the Germans had once again turned into the “archenemies” of the Russian people.
“Just take a look at how thoroughly and in what detail the Krauts are discussing long-range missile strikes on Russia’s territory, and are picking out targets and the most workable ways to harm our Motherland and our people,” he said in a post on the X social platform, adding “Death to the Fascists!”
Ukraine has already received air-launched cruise missiles comparable to the Taurus, the Storm Shadow from the United Kingdom and the SCALP from France. However, the range of both missiles was limited in a way that prevented Kiev forces from using them to attack the Crimean Bridge.
The Kiev regime has already managed to damage the bridge, which links Crimea with the with the Krasnodar Krai region, twice, the first using a booby-trapped truck and the second using a remotely-controlled suicide boat. In both cases, the bridge was quickly fixed.
Germany, which was hesitant to provide support to Ukraine before the start of the Russian military special operation, has now become one of the main military backers of Kiev forces, taking steps so risky that even the United States, the UK and France are not willing to take. Or maybe Berlin is being pushed to do so.
we americans and brits will use the stupid germans once again to attack russia, so that we can wash our hands clean in palestinian child blood!
its not us, its them!
there’s no «americans and brits”, there’s only, there, a rotten elite scum.
america is under the control of khazarian mafia – the ashkenazi jews, also controling the so-called “collective west”. their god is satan. 90% of the us congress is jewish. uk also under the khazarian mafia control.
if true im so happy for that. the alternatives are much worse.
nazi dna—germ failure
please do not confuse brigade with bridge
what is bridge? can hunter buy some more crack from jens holm?
good. russia will learn how to negate yet another useless western weapon. it’s been great training for the russians
this “general” can’t even defend his countries gas pipeline infrastructure from his “allies”… what a joke germany is….it is literally an american occupied country. totally controlled by zionist freemason paedophiles and jews.
according to western msm, putin blown up his own pipeline….. this is mass hysteria.
no they have admitted now that it was in fact done by ukrainians. but, they are trying to minimize the damage by claiming it wasn’t sanctioned by the west or ukrainian command.
that rascal zaluzhny, hung out to dry in limeystan
he might get stars and stribes over there.
thats crap. those people not evendecide that. thats options.
the bad was thing is they were taped.
thats not. he has and are one of many options.
there is a list to my own denmark, which invented and prefare windpower.
usa and denmark were last ones to accept norstrem 2 but for different reasons. i dont take potin out. but a pipeline is very good for blackmailing.
massive wind energy slows down the cold and humid winds from the north, preventing thermal exchange, also causing excess rain in the north and drought in the south.
why are they speaking in german and not hillbilly english?
understand that they’re desperate and in a hurry because if ukraine basically “gives up”, any attempts to launch such missiles will be considered an entirely different provocation and if it gets delineated back to a foreign government, it will make for a very tense situation indeed.
they had to use the cover of the ukraine conflict to do this, and that is rapidly becoming a non-option.
2-4fall schlagend!
what is germland? do germs live there? are they as stupid as jens holm?
meny new faices last night at savna, rusticas, grotescos and ukras
i never wrote that.
it’s a bit too complex and political for me, but in terms of the war, i think it’s quite tragic. the war has caused an immense degree of damage and suffering, and it’s heartbreaking to see. i hope that there can be an end to it soon, and that peace and cooperation can prevail.
patience, deary. they haven’t used up the last ukrainian yet.
how funny to see those hypothetical conspiracies by german just as scholz revealed that essentially uk, but also french are providing targetting data to ukronazi to target russian blacksea ships with storm shadow missiles. would brit officier acknowledgment of the fact in times be in fact damage control.. sounds like rats are jumping ships
all nato and others doo. we are least 40.
what nato decides is % by gdp. if you has nothing to offer, you instead provide money.
the germans don’t need to be pushed any more than any other western gov. they are all controlled by the same nefarious group, the same group that runs israel/entire west. everyone knows it, every one of these countries are infested with these parasites and as with every other pogrom, they should be run out of these countries or hung for being traitors or spies.
the problem is you will find them in the easten countries as well. they are all around putin and their are plenty in china as well. only iran and north korea aren’t infiltrated as far as it seems
soething like that. but its legal to provide more. that goes for eu as well.
donations from civilens to civilens for anything are many too.
well we all know whichever missile used in any strike involves that countries military to coordinate the attack, russia should make it crystal clear an attack will result in a tit-for-tat strike against the weapon suppliers infrastructure too.
thats a tit and tat for your tits.
we anytime can knock out russian productions as well. so far we have been polite.
this kind of “hypothetical deliberations” is enough to get other people drone killed or tortured in guantanamo bay.
people who don’t happen to wear nato uniforms when they plot to destroy civilians and civilian infrastructure in other countries.
.
russia should have sent a message by taking ramstein off the map.
just send some anti ship missiles to yemen and let them take down that one germen ship that was send their without enough ammo…
so much for the silk road.
so much should in your version. an old semilar for usa is, that the american dreams is your sleep.
the anglo french is the original disease of europe and european cowardice. europeans cannot outgrow tribalism. britain provoked 3 world wars. it is time to turn london into an archipelago. this is where usa should side with rest of the world. and ditch israel too. a cancerous liablity
sending french troops into ukraine will give a whole new meaning to french fries.
fried frog legs…to accompany our brat worts, a meal fit for a fool. which is why we eat it every day.
you give every reason for we are as we are.
and you even us home to hide your own missiry. you are discount and almost all perspectives.
next in marts you have elections between one person.
all politicians belong in prison or a psychiatric hospital. without this dictatorial system, in which politicians make all the decisions and the people have no say, there would be no problems in the world. the people never argue with other peoples; it is always only politicians, industrialists, bankers and the like who carry out these wars.
we go try. i would try women everything too. men has had their chanches.
there was an interesting comment on moa, with regards president putin pulling out of the ‘treaty on the final settlement with respect to germany’ (2 plus 4). the international agreement, with regards the re-unification of germany. if germany wants to use their missiles to take out the russian bridge, that links mainland to crimea, russia pulling out of the treaty will be the least of their problems.
im afraid makes no sence since minsk2.
what we give ukraine are donations or gifts. very much its ukras taking out a bridge. very much its their bridge as well. if not, it should be removed.
berlin is being pushed. that much is obvious. since the jewish lobby propaganda convinced germans they were evil, they haven’t stopped mucking up their country. now most germans are as the cia intended for their own people. that is, everything they believe to be true is false. between the greenies and nato robots, germany is fucked. just how the usadmin likes it because they have enough competitors already.
sure, they usé a tractor. it moves east. the driver is erich honecker
as the yankees are killing yemenites in “self defence” russia has the same rights to shoot down all spy planes in the black sea. harm the yankee and nato and other spy stuff in space !!! because they are the one who target mother russia.
thats not same at all.
can we get audio?
nuke the krauts. they clearly haven’t learned their lesson after ww2 and can’t be trusted as was shown after the minsk agreement.
it’s not them. the rest off the world including the sowjets back in the day let the usa install this system in germany where the politics is obliged to serve foreign orders.
sure and be a nazi state agaín.
the were raised as democrates and for good reasons controlled very much in every detail.
they also were devided into 12 almost separate states and got marchel help to recover.
so you are blappering non sence.
and of course they are following orders. they have signed nato as well as eu. they are 4 in the world and museum russia number 11 in gdp.
sour krauts are prone to pouts when they’re being routed.
i should know. my puss has been locked into a permanount pout since kindergarten.
your kind dont decide that at all.
indeed, germans are pushed to do such. why would they harm historically great relations with russia for this one? 🤔 i think that many would agree to the fact that us and nato controls all this. gangsters! cui bonno? i guess we all know whose.
your version is correct. merkel waited and waited too much.
then eneough was enough. thats a sign for we are not usa.
we has no erased russia, a.h. and preussen dividing more the polen and for that ussr taking finland and the baltics adding minerals and food for hitler and more to that.
germany has been caught contemplating killing russian citizens by striking the crimean bridge and ordinary citizens in europe are still not waking up to the dangers their leaders are putting them in. at some point there will be retaliation and you don’t want to be around when that happens.
just give the russians more motivation, you stupid sob!
a destroyed and occupied country ran by cia assets. gute nacht!