"The completion of the investigation of the inspector from the German Air Force, who discussed the strikes on the Crimean bridge, shows the desire of the German ruling circles to quickly to “shut up“ the uncomfortable topic", the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, told RIA Novosti.
Berlin prosecutors earlier closed an investigation against German Air Force inspector Ingo Gerharz, conducted in connection with the interception of a conversation between Bundeswehr officials about the possible use of Taurus cruise missiles on the Crimean bridgehead.
„The completion of the investigation against the German citizen Ingo Gerharz for us means the desire of the German ruling circles to quickly silence an uncomfortable topic”, Zakharova said.
According to her, “Bundeswehr officers not only missed plans to increase Germany's direct involvement in the Ukrainian conflict, but also “betrayed“ its British allies, confirming their key role in planning and carrying out terrorist attacks on Russian soil”.
„As German politicians failed to immediately neutralize the reaction of the German public, shifting the focus of attention to the very fact of the “information leak” and to scare her again with terrifying stories about "Russian espionage", they followed a proven path according to the principle: "no topic - no problem", explained Zakharova. She believes that “this is the standard format of Western behavior in situations where they are caught in the act”.
On March 1, Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the "Russia Today" media group; and the RT television channel, published an audio recording and text of the negotiations between high-ranking officers of the German Bundeswehr. The conversation involved four senior Bundeswehr officials, including the head of the Air Force's operations and exercises department, who discussed the possible deployment of Taurus missiles to Ukraine and the Ukrainian attack on the Crimean bridgehead. Among other things, the military is discussing how to install Taurus missiles and train the Ukrainian military to fire missiles across the Crimean bridge in such a way as not to cross the “red line” and not to become obvious participants in the conflict in Ukraine.
The press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, said that the content of the conversation between German officers emphasized the direct involvement of the West in the conflict over Ukraine. And the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, stated that the West must bear the responsibility for the destructive actions that it planned and largely implemented.
German media acknowledged the authenticity of the recording. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, in turn, earlier said that most of the information from the German military conversation published by Russian media was already available to the public, but some of the information was not yet intended for the general public. . Thus he indirectly acknowledged the authenticity of this recording. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said a thorough, intensive and swift investigation was underway into the release of the tape.