German defense ministry confirms leaked conversation among officers over potential use of Taurus missiles in Ukraine

The German Ministry of Defense confirmed the leak of a conversation between German officers about the possibility of using Taurus missiles in Ukraine. However, the authenticity of the audio recording published by the Russians is currently being verified.

The German TV channel NTV reported that.

"According to our assessment, the conversation in the Air Force was intercepted. At this time, we cannot say with certainty whether changes were made to the audio or the written version distributed on social networks," said a German Ministry of Defense spokeswoman.

Yesterday, Russian propagandist Margarita Simonyan published an audio recording in which senior officers of the German Air Force allegedly discuss the theoretical possibilities of Ukraine's use of German Taurus cruise missiles. In particular, the audio recording discussed the possibility of Taurus missiles hitting the so-called Crimean Bridge.

As reported, Russian propagandists have outlined the content of a nearly 40-minute conversation between the Inspector General of the German Air Force, Ingo Gerharts, and three officers about the details of the possible supply to Ukraine and the use of Taurus cruise missiles. The conversation allegedly took place on February 19.

This caused a massive scandal in German politics. Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz called the situation "serious" and promised a thorough and quick investigation. Members of the Bundestag call for a parliamentary session and talk about the vulnerability of Germany's overall security.

The German Federal Office of Military Counterintelligence has begun an investigation into possible interception of German officers' conversations by the Russian side.