Germany’s defense minister, Boris Pistorius, clarified that talks among German officers about possible Taurus missile transfers to Ukraine do not confirm that Kyiv will receive any missiles. The discussion centers on several scenarios, with some plans including the Taurus system, but there has been no final authorization or decision announced. Pistorius described the leak of these conversations as part of Russia’s information warfare and expressed optimism that initial findings from the investigation into the leak would come early next week.
The minister also acknowledged that some information from the conversations was not intended for public release.
On March 1, a transcript of a discussion among German officers about potentially supplying Taurus missiles to Ukraine and about alleged plans to strike the Crimean bridge and ammunition depots circulated publicly. The German Ministry of Defense later confirmed that the phones of senior army officers were tapped, though it could not say whether the conversation had been altered in any way. More details were reported by New Newspapers.
Earlier, former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl commented that the leaked material points to a lack of professional conduct among some members of Germany’s elite armed forces, highlighting the sensitivity of high level military communications and the potential reputational impact for Berlin.