Germany says military call was intercepted by Russia after officer's ‘operational mistake’
Germany’s defense minister, Boris Pistorius, said Tuesday that one participant on a high-level military call about Ukraine that was intercepted by Russia had mistakenly joined via a non-secure line and German communications systems had not been compromised.
Germany’s defense minister, Boris Pistorius, said Tuesday that one participant on a high-level military call about Ukraine that was intercepted by Russia had mistakenly joined via a non-secure line and German communications systems had not been compromised.
Russia had likely intercepted the discussion among senior German air force officials by chance via widespread surveillance, Pistorius added, as he presented initial results of an investigation into the leak, which has embarrassed Germany and prompted questions about its intelligence security.
Russian media last week published an audio recording of a meeting of the German officials held on the Webex platform discussing the delivery of weapons for Ukraine and a potential strike by Kyiv on a bridge in Crimea.
“Our communication systems have not been compromised,” Pistorius said. “The reason the air force call could nonetheless be recorded was because of an individual’s operational mistake.”
The participant had dialed in from Singapore where an air show was taking place. Such an event attracted high-ranking European military officials, making it a target for Russian security services.
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