A 38-minute audio recording was made public this week of a recent conversation among senior Bundeswehr officers about how to destroy the Crimean Bridge and other Russian targets in support of Ukraine. The conversation occurred on February 19 and was later leaked to RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan.
In it, General Ingo Gerhartz, the head of Germany's air force (Luftwaffe); Brigadier-General Frank Graefe, Luftwaffe's deputy chief of staff for operations; and two others in the German military are heard discussing how to use Taurus long-range missiles to attack key Russian targets, but to do so discreetly in such a way as to maintain plausible deniability, thus avoiding any chance of crossing the "red line" of direct involvement in the war.
Up until now, Western powerhouses like the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany have avoided all appearances of direct involvement in the war, recognizing that to do so would prompt a severe response from Russia. Now, it appears that red line may have been crossed with this newly leaked recording.
Gerhartz was heard in the recording fleshing out various "tricks" that Luftwaffe could use to slip the weapons to Ukraine undetected and utilize Germany's own troops to fire them. One such trick involves having "many people [in Ukraine] in civilian clothes who speak with an American accent."
Responding to this, Graefe told Gerhartz not to worry because "there is no language that makes us a party to the conflict."
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(Related: The United Kingdom is also poking the bear by quietly and secretly helping Ukraine to craft battle plans against Russia while pretending to not be directly involved in the war.)
Concerning the Crimean Bridge, the German military officers noted the political importance of attacking the bridge, though they stated that it is probably too sturdy for Germany's Taurus long-range missiles to cause much damage.
Gerhartz admitted during the meeting that even with the 50 some-odd Taurus missiles that Germany could provide to Ukraine, firing all of them at the 20-mile-long Crimean Bridge "won't change the course of the war," the suggestion being that they would cause little damage to the solid structure.
The Russian government is responding to the leaked call by demanding immediate answers from the German government about what it has been plotting in secret.
"We demand an explanation from Germany," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. "Official Berlin must provide it immediately. Attempts to dodge the question will be considered an admission of guilt."
Like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Germany has yet to respond to the leak. Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov says that NATO at large now has "egg on its face" based on the clarity of what was discussed and its intent.
When the Russian legislature reconvenes on March 11, it will address the recording, said Speaker of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin, adding that the matter "deserves the most serious discussion" and that Moscow needs to "send a demand to the Bundestag to conduct an investigation."
"Once again," commented former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Germany has "turned into our archenemies."
"Just take a look at how thoroughly and in what detail the Krauts are discussing long-range missile strikes on Russia's territory, and are picking out targets and the most workable ways to harm our Motherland and our people," Medvedev wrote in a post, ending it with his World War II-era slogan, "Death to the Fascists!"
How much longer will it be before regional conflicts like Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Gaza go hot globally? Find out more at WWIII.news.
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