German authorities have accused Russia of eavesdropping on senior German soldiers discussing secret military aid to Ukraine and announced an investigation after the audio was leaked to Russia, according to reports.

Senior Luftwaffe officials are said to have discussed the idea of ​​sending long-range German-Swedish cruise missiles to destroy the bunker. Taurusto Ukraine for possible use on the Kerch Bridge connecting Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea, Deutsche Welle (DW) report Saturday. “We had a good look at the bridge,” one of the officers said, DW reported. “Unfortunately, because of its size, it's like a landing strip. So there's a good chance you'll need 10 or 20 missiles.”

“What is being reported is very serious,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters, according to DW newspaper. “That's why we need to launch a very thorough, intensive and swift investigation.”

According to a report by DW, Margarita Simonyan, head of Russian state media RT, posted the leaked audio recording on social media.she Posted on VKontaktethe Russian Facebook lookalike, and upon Twitter, and Transcript published.

“Head of Operations and Exercises, Luftwaffe Command, [Frank] Graefe and Air Force Inspector Ingo Gerhardts are said to have participated in the intercepted conversation. according to One of Simonyan's tweets regarding this matter.

In response to Scholz's call for a swift investigation, Simonian appeared to ridicule the prime minister. another tweet: “Contact us. We're here to help.” U.S. Department of State explained Simonyan in August 2022 is “[Russian President] “Vladimir Putin's faithful propagandist” and “good at presenting lies as truth and with a smile.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reportedly weighed in on the issue. “I don't know how to explain what happened,” he said, according to DW. “But while our NATO colleagues are clearly involved, I don't know how they will explain it to their own citizens.” (Related: Putin threatens nuclear war if Western countries deepen involvement in Russia-Ukraine war)

Germany's military, the Bundeswehr, was rushing to stop the leak and was concerned about whether there were any more leaked conversations, DW noted.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius called the leak a “hybrid disinformation attack” by President Putin. according to Washington Post.

“This is clearly aimed at undermining our unity,” he said, DW reported. “That is to divide domestic politics. And I very much hope that President Putin does not manage it and that even though we disagree on the Taurus issue and all the questions that need to be answered, we are united.” I really hope it continues.”

The Washington Post reported that despite pressure from allies, Scholz was unwilling to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine, fearing that Berlin might be dragged into the Ukraine war.

Scholz recently disagreed with French President Emmanuel Macron, saying NATO would not send troops to war. according to Bloomberg. This reportedly indicates a clear rift in the relationship between the two leaders. Nevertheless, Germany is reportedly the second largest donor to Ukraine after the United States.