German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius presented the first findings of the Bundeswehr on Tuesday into a secret conversation between his generals that fueled tensions with Moscow after it was intercepted by Russia, Reuters reported.

Pistorius said one of the soldiers involved in a discussion about the war in Ukraine was intercepted after entering the conversation using an unsecured line, and that the German armed forces’ communications system had not been compromised.

He also said that Russia likely accidentally intercepted the call through its mass surveillance systems, not through the German spy network.

“The reason for the call between [ofițerii] of the Air Force could have been intercepted, but it was due to an operational error by an individual,” he said, explaining that the serviceman in question had called in from Singapore, where he was participating in an air show.

Several high-ranking military personnel from Europe arrived in Singapore for the event, making it a prime target for Moscow’s secret services.

“Therefore, we have to assume that the access to this WebEx conference was a random hit as part of a broad diffuse approach,” Pistorius explained, adding that the use of the WebEx platform for the call was authorized and that it was a dedicated platform with servers. The Bundeswehr is certified in Germany.

Thus, Pistorius confirmed information provided by Der Spiegel sources, who wrote last week that the discussion between German officers came from a video conference on the public WebEx platform, and not from the army’s internal secret network.

He assured that Germany will take the necessary technical and organizational measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.

What information is in the note between German officers

Margarita Simonyan, head of the propaganda station Russia Today, published the file, which lasted more than half an hour, on Friday, presenting it as a discussion of German soldiers about the strikes in Crimea.

In this conversation, heard by AFP but undated, the video conference participants discuss, in particular, the hypothesis that Germany would supply Kiev with long-range German-made Taurus missiles, which would be necessary to allow Ukrainian forces to use them and their ultimate effect.

Russian propaganda actively sought details about the general suspects on the tape, who were identified on the tape.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz repeatedly rejected the possibility of supplying Kyiv with long-range Taurus missiles precisely because of fears that their use could lead to an escalation of the conflict. The German parliament, in turn, voted against the measure last month.

“This is a very serious matter, and that’s why it’s now the subject of a very thorough, very thorough and very quick investigation,” Scholz said Saturday of the tape released by Margarita Simonian.

In the conversation between them, the German officers talk, in particular, about the hypothesis of strikes on the Kerch bridge connecting Crimea with Russia. The participants of the WebEx conference also discussed the details of the supply of long-range Scalp missiles to Ukraine by France and Great Britain.

Russia accused Germany of “details” of strikes on “its territory”

In Moscow, the spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova asked for “quick explanations” from Germany on this matter.

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

In turn, the second member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Dmytro Medvedev, noted in his Telegram account that “our old rivals, the Germans, have again become our sworn enemies.”

Look how precisely and in detail the “Germans” talk about how to hit our territory with long-range missiles, how to choose the targets to be hit, and how to cause maximum damage to our homeland,” he accused.

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