Wiretapped: How Russia is dividing Ukraine's supporters

2024-03-05 11:33:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Wiretapped: How Russia is dividing Ukraine's supporters

Illustrative photo

Especially in Great Britain, the criticism of Germany is very harsh after the publicizing of the intercepted conversation between senior officers of the Bundeswehr about the possible use of Taurus missiles in Ukraine. "We know that Germany is heavily infiltrated by the Russian secret services, which shows that it is neither safe nor trustworthy," said former British defense minister Ben Wallace, according to the Londoner Times. Conservative Wallace arranged until August 2023 arms aid to Ukraine.

Last Friday, a 38-minute talk by the German military led by German combat aviation inspector Ingo Gerhartz was released on Russian propaganda channels. The officers used the WebEx service for the conference. One participant even registered from Singapore. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius confirmed the discovery of the conversation on Sunday afternoon. "However, this means that we must prepare for any type of war, even a hybrid one, of information, a war of disinformation, because this case is a clear example."

There is no doubt that Russia is waging a hybrid war, two years after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, says Nico Lange, a German security expert who also works for the Munich Security Conference. Lange says that such a war also includes "igniting or intensifying political conflicts". The German military must listen to the uncomfortable question of whether they have acted too recklessly. Is the German military struggling to prepare for Moscow's hybrid war?

Harsh criticism from the British House of Commons

Criticism comes from the British House of Commons. Tobias Ellwood, former chairman of the defense committee referring to the Germans, asks "why were the basic conceptual protocols not resected"? "Before the intensity with which Russia spies on Germany and other countries," Ellwood told the BBC, Moscow would not learn more about Taurus, "as far as I know." The conservator wants "serious conversations about why this has happened".

Hybrid disinformation attack

Security expert James Davis from the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland, is not surprised. "I doubt many of the Allies are surprised that Russia is spying on German military conversations." He points out that "they are probably not even surprised, that the Germans are surprised, which says a lot about Germany's position within the Allies." This case confirms the prevailing opinion that "Berlin has ignored German military capabilities and is hopelessly naive when it comes to Moscow's capabilities and intentions," according to Davis. This interception has damaged allies.

"It's a hybrid attack of disinformation, it's about division, and undermining our unity," said German Defense Minister Pistorius, and we need to react wisely but no less decisively. With WebEx there are forms of certification and for example depending on the content WebEx can be used up to a certain degree of secrecy, said Pistorius who for now has ruled out consequences for military personnel.

The German Military Intelligence Service, MAD, is investigating whether security standards have been ignored, particularly in relation to the chosen platform of a commercial video conferencing provider. /DW