Russia: Moscow publishes German army meeting planning to attack Crimea

Germany has admitted that Russia hacked a military meeting where military officers discussed the supply of long-range missiles to Ukraine and possible targets.

The head of Russian state broadcaster RT posted the audio of the video conference on social media.

Officials are discussing how a missile could hit the Kerch Bridge, which connects Russia to illegally annexed Crimea.

Russian politicians say audio recordings prove their “nemesis” is planning an attack.

Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Saturday’s apparent leak was “a very serious matter, which is why it is currently being investigated very carefully, very intensively and very quickly.”

According to Der Spiegel magazine, the video conference took place on the WebEx platform and not on a secret military network.

The 38-minute audio recording was posted on Friday by RT chief Margarita Simonyan, who said it was proof that Germany was planning to attack Crimea.

In the recording, a discussion can be heard about the possible use of German-made Taurus missiles by the Ukrainian army and its possible consequences.

A German Defense Ministry spokesperson told AFP news agency that secret Luftwaffe conversations had been intercepted.

But she said she “cannot say with certainty” whether the audio recordings were manipulated before being released.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called for a “quick” explanation from Germany.”

Any attempt to avoid answering questions will be considered an admission of guilt,” she said.

Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said in a telegram that “our long-time rivals, the Germans, have once again become our arch-enemies. We will discuss attacking our territory with long-range missiles, choose targets for attack, and discuss how to inflict the greatest possible damage to our homeland and people.”