Germany’s Pistorius Says Russian Leak Part of Disinformation War

(Bloomberg) -- President Vladimir Putin is looking to divide Ukraine’s allies with a disinformation campaign, Germany’s defense minister said, days after Russian media published a leaked conversation about the possible deployment of German long-range missiles in Ukraine.

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“It’s about division, it’s about undermining our unity, so we should react in a level-headed but not less determined way,” Boris Pistorius said after a hastily-convened special meeting of the defense committee in Berlin on Sunday.

“This is clearly about undermining our unity,” he said. “It is about using this recording to destabilize and unsettle us,” adding that “we should not fall for Putin’s line.”

In the 38-minute audio recording obtained by the media platform Russia Today, German air force chief Ingo Gerhartz and highly-ranked officers discussed a possible delivery of German Taurus missiles to Kyiv, and their potential impact.

“On Friday, immediately after it became known, I contacted the federal office for military counterintelligence (MAD) and instructed them to investigate the incident completely,” Pistorius said, adding that he is getting regular updates.

Read more: Germany Probes Military Security Leak After Russian Wiretap

Der Spiegel and the German press agency DPA reported separately that the recording has been determined to be authentic, while potentially doctored, and that the conversation had been conducted on the commercial, non-encrypted video calling platform Webex — with invitations sent to mobile phones via a Bundeswehr office landline.

Pistorius said it was no coincidence that the revelation came amid funeral services for Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny and new revelations about the Wirecard scandal.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has clearly positioned himself against the deployment of German Taurus missiles in Ukraine, causing tensions among some NATO members.

Read more: UK Is Pushing Germany to Send Long-Range Missiles to Ukraine

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