German Minister attributes Ukraine war call leak due to individual error

• The leak was attributed to a participant dialing in via an insecure line.
• Chancellor Olaf Scholz denies sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine.
• The call occurred on a more secure version of the Webex conference platform hosted on German army servers.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated that Russian sources leaked a meeting of senior German air force officials due to an "individual error." He clarified that an investigation had ruled out the involvement of a Russian spy participating unnoticed in the call. Mr. Pistorius attributed the leak to a participant dialing in via an insecure line.

Mr. Pistorius emphasized that the insecure line allowed Russia to intercept the conversation. The recording allegedly captures four senior German military officers discussing the possibility of Ukraine utilizing German-made Taurus cruise missiles to target the Kerch Bridge, which connects Russia to the Crimean peninsula, annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has consistently denied any intention of sending the Taurus missiles to Ukraine. According to Mr. Pistorius, the call occurred on a more secure version of the Webex conference platform, hosted on German army servers.

Last week, Russia's state-run RT channel posted an audio recording of the meeting. At a press conference on Tuesday, Mr. Pistorius stated that one participant had dialed into the meeting via an "unauthorized connection," resulting in the leak. He confirmed that a disciplinary investigation was underway but implied he did not want to see heads roll.

"At the moment, personal consequences are not on the agenda. I won't sacrifice my best officers for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's games," he said.

An officer who dialed in from Singapore, where a military air show occurred at the end of February, utilized the insecure line. The breach has raised significant concerns about Germany's security among allies, including France and the UK. However, Mr. Pistorius refuted the assertion that Germany had broken the trust of its allies.

"Everyone knows of the danger of such interceptions and all know there is no absolute security," he said.

On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov framed the recording as proof that the West is directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine. He stated that the leaked conversation "suggests that the Bundeswehr is discussing substantively and specifically plans to strike Russian territory."

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