Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has warned that the leak was Russia's attempt to sow divisionBy Jessica Parker and Laura GozziBBC News in Berlin and London
Germany is scrambling to explain how a conversation of air force officials discussing giving Ukraine long-range missiles was leaked by Russian sources.
Last week, Russia's state-run RT channel posted an audio recording of the meeting.
The officers can be heard discussing how the missiles could hit the Kerch Bridge, which links Russia to Crimea.
The breach has sparked major concerns about Germany's security among allies.
In the recording, four senior German military officers, including Air Force chief Ingo Gerhartz and Brig Gen Frank Gräfe, are heard discussing the prospect of supplying Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles.
The men also discuss details of alleged British operations on the ground in Ukraine.
Tobias Ellwood, a UK member of parliament and former chairman of the Commons Defence Committee, told the BBC that the leak was "worrying on a number of levels".
Germany's defence ministry has confirmed that a conversation of air force officials was "intercepted" – but couldn't say whether the recording had been tampered with.
The discussion was reportedly hosted on the Webex conference platform rather than a secure army platform, causing further embarrassment for Berlin.
Germany's Military Counterintelligence Service is investigating the security breach. But it is not clear whether the results of the inquiry will be made public.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz's allies have resisted calls from the opposition for a parliamentary inquiry.
The episode has highlighted divisions over Chancellor Scholz's current insistence that he won't send Taurus missiles to Ukraine. Mr Scholz fears the missiles, which have a range of around 500km (300 miles), could be used by Ukraine to strike Russian territory.
France and Britain have supplied Kyiv with Scalp and Storm Shadow missiles, both of which have around half the range.
Mr Ellwood said the leak revealed a "tension… between senior German military who want to see Taurus dispatched and the German Chancellor, who seems increasingly focused on his political survival rather than what's best for the continent."
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius is attempting to portray the hack as an attempt by Russia to sow division. He called the leak a "hybrid disinformation attack" aimed at "undermining our unity."
"We mustn't fall for Putin," he said on Sunday.
For its part, the Kremlin is framing the leak as proof that the West is directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that the leaked conversation "suggests that the Bundeswehr is discussing substantively and specifically plans to strike Russian territory."
Source: bbc.com
