The Kremlin indicated that the content of a leaked conversation among German officers discussing the possibility of striking in Crimea "proves that Western countries are participating in the war in Ukraine." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that the discussions "once again highlight the direct collective involvement of the West in the Ukraine conflict." He added, "In this case, we need to know whether the German military is doing this on its own initiative. Then the question will be: how much control does Chancellor Scholz have over the situation? Or is this part of the German government's policy?" He noted that both possibilities are "very bad and reaffirm the direct collective involvement of Western countries in the ongoing conflict regarding Ukraine."
For its part, a spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry denied a Russian media report that claimed the German ambassador to Russia had been summoned, stating that the time for the diplomat's visit to the Russian Foreign Ministry had been set a while ago. The spokesperson remarked, "In fact, our ambassador was at the Russian Foreign Ministry this morning for an appointment that had been scheduled for some time. In this regard, I can simply answer your question as to whether this is a summons by stating no."
The Russian news agency TASS reported that the meeting came after Russian media published an audio recording of a meeting among senior German military officials discussing the provision of weapons to Ukraine and a potential strike by Kyiv on a bridge in Crimea. TASS quoted an unnamed source stating that the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the German ambassador on Monday following the publication of the audio recording. In the alleged recording, German military personnel were heard discussing sending weapons to Ukraine and a potential strike by Kyiv on a bridge in Crimea, prompting Russian officials to demand clarification.
