Russia Today's editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan, recently made a 30-minute audio recording public that features discussions among high-ranking German officers about plans to target the Crimea Bridge on the Russian border.

In the leaked audio, top German military officers discuss deploying Taurus missiles in response to a potential political decision. They explore the technical aspects of whether these missiles could effectively destroy the Crimea Bridge and discuss the possibility of Ukraine utilizing them without Germany's intelligence and technical support.

As you may recall, the Crimean Bridge, also known as Kerch Bridge, was targeted on Oct. 8, 2022, with Ukraine taking responsibility for the attack. The bridge connects mainland Russia to Crimea, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.

In light of this scandal, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, addressing the issue at the Vatican, promised a full investigation and deemed the publication of the audio recordings a "highly serious matter." He also conveyed that the German authorities are diligently and swiftly conducting a thorough investigation into the incident.

The discussion featuring the mentioned audio recording reportedly involved the participation of German Air Force commander Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz to brief German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. The German Ministry of Defense is actively investigating the circumstances surrounding the leaked audio, emphasizing that the country's Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) has taken all necessary precautions. The conversation among the German officers is noted to have taken place via the Webex platform over the internet.

Scholz prioritizes leak over content

While Scholz appears more concerned about the leak itself than the content of the recordings, the consequences for Germany are anticipated to be significant.

Russia, unable to substantiate its claims that the Nord Stream was attacked by the United States and its ships in the Black Sea were struck by the British, has now seized a favorable position against the Western alliance. As Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov articulated, the recording serves as clear evidence of the direct involvement of Western countries in the conflicts in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had merely reminded French President Emmanuel Macron of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's fate when the latter attempted to assemble an army against Russia in Ukraine. However, the current situation is far more serious, as it involves a threat and concrete evidence of a committed crime.

If the German chancellor were to openly admit that the German army was not being commanded from Berlin, it would further complicate the situation. That is precisely the current state of affairs.

Rüdiger Lucassen, the spokesperson for defense policies in the parliamentary group of the opposition party, the Alternative for Germany (AfD), describes the scandal as follows: "The Russian authorities interpret the recorded content as indicative of Germany's path toward war. Nevertheless, the concerned officers directly oppose the federal government's efforts to hinder Germany's involvement in the conflict. It is apparent that Defense Minister Pistorius is struggling to maintain control over his ministry. Furthermore, his distinct policy on Taurus missile deliveries is noticeably divergent from that of the prime minister."

Having withdrawn a significant portion of the 200,000 troops deployed post-World War II, the U.S. currently maintains around 35,000 military personnel in the country. With German officers implementing the U.S. Army's strategy against Russia without the chancellor and federal Parliament's knowledge, there appears to be no requirement for additional intervention.