Germany admits recording of plan to bomb Crimea bridge 0
(Dan Tri) – A spokesman for the German Ministry of Defense admitted that the discussion among the country’s officers about supporting Ukraine in an attack on the Crimea bridge is true.
Russian ship moves across Crimea bridge (Photo: Reuters).
`According to our assessment, a conversation within the Air Force was intercepted,` a spokesman for the German Ministry of Defense announced on March 2.
The statement was made a day after RT TV channel Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan said she had received recordings of conversations from Russian security officials.
Ms. Simonyan initially released a recording of the conversation in Russian, then posted a recording in German on social networks.
She said German military officers allegedly discussed a bombing campaign against the Crimean bridge.
The 38-minute recording on February 19 recorded a conversation between four officers of the German air force, including the commander of this force, Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz.
German officers discussed the operational and targeting details of the long-range Taurus missile that Germany is considering sending to Kiev.
The officers also discussed issuing a plausible denial in the event of an attack on the Crimean bridge to help Berlin avoid being drawn into the conflict between Kiev and Moscow.
Previously, German media also reported that the recording appeared to be authentic.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the leak a `very serious matter`.
`That’s why this incident is being investigated very thoroughly, carefully and quickly,` he said, adding that such an investigation was `necessary.`
However, he did not comment on the content of the recording and did not clarify whether Berlin knew about the plan discussed by senior military officers.
Some German politicians believe that the incident could have deeper implications.
The Crimea Bridge was built between 2016 and 2018 and is the only railway and road link connecting the Crimean peninsula with mainland Russia.
Moscow opened a large land corridor to Crimea after Russia announced the annexation of four regions in Ukraine in the fall of 2022.
After the outbreak of conflict between Russia and Ukraine, many Ukrainian officials and commanders, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, threatened to destroy the Crimean bridge.
The Crimean Bridge, 18km long, has been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian naval missiles and drones, but Russia claims most attacks have been repelled.
After consecutive attacks on the Crimea bridge, Moscow mobilized many measures to protect this vital structure.
