German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated on Tuesday that one of the participants in the military call concerning Ukraine, which was intercepted by Russia, had contacted via an unsecured line, confirming that the country's communication systems were not compromised.
Pistorius, while presenting initial findings of the investigation into the embarrassing leak, noted that Russia likely intercepted the military call by chance through its widespread surveillance systems, rather than through a spy or a breach of German systems.
He emphasized, "Our communication systems were not breached. The reason the Air Force call was recorded nonetheless was an operational error by one individual." Pistorius added that Germany would take technical and organizational measures to ensure such an incident does not recur.
Last week, Russian media published an audio recording of a meeting between senior German military officials held via Webex, discussing the supply of weapons to Ukraine and a potential strike by Kyiv on a bridge in the Crimean Peninsula. The participant called from Singapore, where an airshow was taking place, attracting senior European military officials, which made the call a target for Russian security services.
