How Russia is driving discord among allies

 

Criticism of Germany, after a conversation between high-ranking air force officers about how Taurus cruise missiles could be used in Ukraine was leaked, is particularly harsh in Great Britain: "We know that Germany has been pretty much hacked by the Russian secret services, which shows that they are neither safe nor reliable," said former British Defense Minister Ben Wallace, as reported by the London "Times".

 

Conservative Wallace, who resigned on August 31, 2023, until then was in charge of organizing military aid for Ukraine in the British government in London.

 

The officer's more than 38-minute conversation, conducted by German Air Force Inspector General Ingo Gerharts, was broadcast on Russian propaganda channels last Friday and then shared widely. Bundeswehr officers used WebEx software to communicate, and one of the participants called from Singapore, using a smartphone.

 

 

Germany's confirmation only after two days

 

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius confirmed the leak to the media on Sunday afternoon, two days after its publication, that is, when the case was already being used for propaganda purposes on Russian state television.

 

"It means in any case that we have to prepare for every form of war, including hybrid, information war, disinformation war, because this is a very clear example of that," Pistorius said at a press conference in Berlin.

 

Two years after Russia launched a major invasion of Ukraine, the fact that it is waging a hybrid war involving disinformation and discord is undisputed in Germany as well.

 

This includes "initiating or inciting political opposition", German security expert Niko Lange, who works for the Munich Security Conference, among other things, wrote on the X platform.

 

The German army must face the question of whether it acted with gross negligence. Is the Bundeswehr still struggling to adapt to Moscow's hybrid war?

 

Fierce criticism from the House of Commons of the British Parliament

 

The ruling Conservative Party MP and former chairman of the Defense Committee Tobias Ellwood, speaking in the House of Commons, asked the Germans "why basic protocols were not followed?"

 

"Given the intensity with which Russia is spying on Germany and other countries, Moscow must not have learned anything more from that wiretapping than they already assumed," Ellwood told the BBC on Monday.

 

In relation to Germany, however, the conservative MP called for "serious discussions about why this happened in the first place".

 

Ellwood does not shy away from criticizing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who still resolutely refuses to deliver Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.

 

Berlin is "hopelessly naïve"

 

James Davis, who holds the chair of international relations at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland, says in an interview with DW: "I doubt that many allies are surprised that Russia is spying on the conversations of German military officials. They may not be surprised that the Germans are surprised either, which speaks volumes about Germany's position in the Alliance".

 

The incident only confirms the widespread opinion "that Berlin has neglected its military capabilities and is hopelessly naive when it comes to Moscow's capabilities and intentions."

 

Germany is "hopelessly naive", and the damage to relations with its NATO partners is obvious. This was not changed even by German Defense Minister Pistorius' attempt to limit the damage, two days after the data leak.

 

 

Pistorius: "Hybrid disinformation attack"

 

It's a "hybrid disinformation attack, it's divisive, it's an undermining of our unity, and accordingly we need to respond with particular caution, but no less decisively," Pistorius said.

 

Germany's military intelligence service MAD is now investigating whether security standards were breached, particularly in relation to the fact that a commercial provider's platform was chosen for the video conference. "WebEx has certified forms and depending on the content, for example, it can be used up to a certain level of confidentiality and secrecy," Pistorius said.

 

The minister at this time is ruling out any repercussions for the Air Force officers who were involved in the leaked conversation. "In principle, I do not speculate about personnel consequences before the investigations are completed," said Boris Pistorius.