The German government comments on the procedures regarding the Russian wiretapping. Error on the part of the Luftwaffe pilot

– Our certified means of communication, while maintaining procedures, are completely safe, there is no doubt about that. We are working technically and procedurally so that similar situations are no longer possible, assured Boris Pistorius. The head of the German Ministry of Defense explained that the technique did not fail because the German army uses safe tools. Explanations on this matter have already been sent to NATO allies.

The wiretapping scandal. The German opposition wants a commission of inquiry

Pistorius said one of the four Luftwaffe officers used a line to connect that was not secure and should not have been used. He added, however, that the preliminary investigation had not been formally completed and it depended on who would suffer what disciplinary consequences. The German Defense Minister said that he had already contacted his counterparts from other countries yesterday. After handing over the arrangements, he was to hear from them that the allies still trusted Germany.

The ruling coalition is against the establishment of an investigative commission into the conversation of German officers overheard by the Russians. MPs from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD party argue that the matter should be clarified immediately, and committee meetings may last up to three years. The Greens, in turn, believe that such committees should deal with closed topics that can be discussed publicly, and these two conditions are not met in this case.

Meanwhile, the opposition is asking how it is possible that the German army’s conversations are so easy for the Russians to intercept. The Christian Democrats want a debate and a speech by the Chancellor before the Bundestag. The leader of the CDU, the party with the largest support in Germany currently (according to polls), demands a special meeting of the Bundestag’s defense committee.

In a disclosed conversation, Luftwaffe officers say that the transfer of missiles to Ukraine does not have to be associated with the presence of German troops in this country. This is the German Chancellor’s main argument for not sending the missiles. Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday that the refusal to send the Tauruses is indisputable because he is the chancellor and he decides on this matter.

The Russians overheard the German officers. They talked about an attack on the bridge connecting Crimea and Russia

. The conversation was to take place on February 19 via the WebEx remote calling application. Experts say that it is not particularly secured, which could have made it easier to intercept the conversation. Additionally, one of the four officers was in Asia at that time.

The recorded officers said that if Germany handed over the Tauruses, there would be at most a hundred of them, and the first tranche (50 units) would be ready in a few months. German officers indicated that 20 missiles were needed to destroy the Kerch Bridge, connecting Russia with Crimea. The conversation also includes information about allied forces.