Another participant in a confidential conversation intercepted by the Russians between high-ranking German army officers did not properly connect to the video conference, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Monday, AFP reports.

During this meeting regarding the provision of military aid to Kyiv, the audio recording of which was made public in Russia, the head of the Air Force Inspector Ingo Gerharts would not have used the mandatory communication, according to the first results of the investigation announced after the meeting of the Defense Commission in the Bundestag, reports Agerpres.

However, there would be no data leakage in his case, unlike another participant who was known to use an “unauthorized connection”.

In an attempt to calm spirits after the scandal involving the Russian interception of some conversations of the German military that broke out in early March, Germany emphasized the “individual error”.

The minister noted that preliminary disciplinary investigations are underway to find out what “may or may not have been discussed” during the meeting and what technical errors were made.

German Defense Minister does not want to “play Putin’s game”

He also said he wanted to wait for the results of those investigations before deciding whether there would be “disciplinary action and, if so, what kind of action it would take,” noting that he didn’t want to “play Putin’s game.” by “dismissing those of my best officers, whether they erred or not.”

Boris Pistorius has announced that security awareness in the Bundeswehr will be raised again and the protection systems in use may be strengthened.

During the intercepted conversation, senior Air Force officers discuss the theoretical possibility of deploying German Taurus cruise missiles in Ukraine.

But German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly ruled out supplying Ukraine with Taurus missiles, despite repeated requests from Kyiv, saying he fears Germany could be drawn deeper into the war launched by the Kremlin in February 2022.

While the debate over the delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine continues for months, Minister Pistorius commented on the hypothesis of delivery of these missiles to the UK, which in turn could deliver similar weapons to Ukraine, put forward in recent days.

Minister Pistorius said on Monday evening that the German government did not believe it would be of “significant importance”.