Chancellor Olaf Scholz Announces “Meticulous” Investigation

The head of the Russian state broadcaster RT, Margarita Simonyan, was the one who unveiled the audio recording at the conclusion of this week. The said recording is believed to be from February 19. The audio clip features German officers discussing their support for Ukraine and deliberating over the capability of the Taurus missiles to obliterate the Crimean Bridge.

As per the report of Die Welt, the controversial recording was supposedly captured during a video conference conducted via the Webex platform. There are speculations that the officers might have been overhead through the WiFi network. Allegedly, Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz along with three other officers were discussing the potential employment of the German Taurus missiles. This was said to be a preliminary meeting which would be followed by a detailed briefing to the German government. The officers also considered whether Ukraine has the ability to target the said bridge without the involvement of the German army. It was further mentioned that there was no political sanction for the act.

Margarita Simonjan wrote on Telegram that, “In this recording, high-ranking Bundeswehr officers discuss how they will bomb the Crimean Bridge.” The credibility of the recording was initially doubted, but later several German media outlets, including ARD and ZDF, verified that the conversation did indeed occur.

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The release of the recording was even more disconcerting for Berlin as the participants in the conversation were also discussing details about the delivery of Scalp long-range missiles from France and the United Kingdom.

Konstanin van Notz, who is the chairman of the parliamentary committee that oversees the secret services, expressed his concern to the newspapers of the RND group saying, “If this story is true, this would be a highly problematic incident.”

The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, assured that he will provide clarification about the Russian publication shortly. “This is a very serious matter and that is why it is now the subject of a very meticulous, thorough and rapid investigation,” stated Scholz on Saturday, following a meeting with Pope Francis in the Vatican.