UPDATE - Germany says Russians tapped military teleconference apparently via hotel internet

UPDATES WITH MORE QUOTES; ADDS DETAILS; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Anadolu staff

BERLIN (AA) - Russians intercepted a teleconference of German army officers apparently by accessing a hotel’s internet network, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, Pistorius said the wiretapping incident happened as one of the army officers was on a visit to Singapore, and joined the teleconference from a hotel room.

“Our communication systems are not and have not been compromised,” the minister stressed, adding that the investigators have not identified any security deficiencies on the military’s communication systems or data servers.

“The teleconference among the air force officers could be wiretapped because of an individual error. Not all participants adhered to the secure dial-in procedure as prescribed. According to the current state of knowledge, the participant in Singapore was connected via an unauthorized connection,” Pistorius said.

He said that according to the initial investigation, the military officer joined the teleconference via non-secure data lines, either the hotel’s public Internet connection or mobile communications network, which were intercepted by the Russians.

Pistorius said the ministry has launched routine, preliminary disciplinary investigations after the incident, but ruled out any personnel consequences for the time being.

”Unless something worse comes out, I will not sacrifice any of my best officers to Russian President (Vladimir) Putin's games. I would like to state this very clearly,” he said.

The German government has come under immense pressure after the embarrassing wiretapping affair, as confidential discussions of German Air Force officers about the Ukraine war were intercepted and leaked to the Russian media last week.

In the leaked audio recordings, German Air Force chief Gen. Ingo Gerhartz and senior military officers were discussing the possible delivery of long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, and their potential use to destroy the Kerch Bridge connecting Crimea to Russia.

In the 38-minute recording, military officers can be heard discussing different scenarios in the event of a German government decision to deliver Taurus missiles to Ukraine, and whether the Ukrainian military could use these weapons without the involvement of the German Air Force, and its technical and intelligence support.

Their discussions also involved some possible tricks, such as providing Ukraine with satellite pictures, data, and intelligence through third parties to avoid Germany’s direct involvement in the conflict.

Last week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated his opposition to supplying Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles, warning that this could lead to a direct conflict between Russia and NATO.

But senior lawmakers from his coalition partners the Greens, and the liberal FDP, have openly criticized Scholz’s stance, and called on the chancellor to reconsider his approach, and provide Ukraine with much-needed Taurus missiles.

The powerful cruise missiles have a range of more than 500 kilometers (310 miles) and are well known for their success in properly targeting objects, including bridges, or hard and deeply buried targets, such as command bunkers.