Poltics
Caller on leaked German audio ‘dialled in via non-secure line’
One of the participants on Germany’s leaked military call dialled via a non-secure line and disciplinary measures are being looked into, Germany’s defence minister has said.
Presenting the first results of the investigation, Boris Pistorius said Russia had likely intercepted the military call by chance via widespread surveillance, and not through a spy or any compromised German systems.
“Our communication systems have not been compromised,” Mr Pistorius said.
“The reason the air force call could nonetheless be recorded was because of an individual’s operational mistake.”
Mr Pistorius said the specific participant had dialled in from Singapore where an air show was taking place.
“So we must assume that the access to this Webex conference was a chance hit in the framework of a broad, scattered approach,” the minister added.
He also said use of Webex for the call was authorised.
For context: Over the weekend, a recording was leaked of a conversation between high-ranking German officers where they discussed the country’s Ukraine war strategy.
The top officers also discussed how the air force could provide technical support for the delivery of Taurus missiles in a hypothetical situation.
The conversation also referenced British soldiers on the ground in Ukraine.
German authorities confirmed the authenticity of the recording, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz calling the leak a “very serious matter”.
However, defence minister Boris Pistorius suggested Russia had used a level of “choreography”.
He claimed the leak was timed to deflect attention away from Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s funeral
Russian advance stopped near Avdiivka but reinforcing further south
A Russian advance outside the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka has been contained but Moscow’s troops are regrouping in an area further south, Ukraine’s military has said.
The capture of Avdiivka last month prompted Vladimir Putin to pledge that Moscow’s forces would make further advances.
Russia’s defence ministry later said its forces had captured new villages outside Avdiivka.
Now, Ukrainian military spokesperson Dmytro Lykhoviy has acknowledged that Russian forces are in partial control of two more villages but says their advances have been halted.
“At the same time, we are saying that in this hottest sector of the direct Russian assault, we are managing to stabilise the situation and the enemy’s advance has been halted,” he said.
The capture of Avdiivka after months of fighting was Russia’s biggest gain in nine months, though the frontlines have undergone only limited movement in that time.
Russia threatens to expel German journalists – report
Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman has said German journalists will have to leave Russia if Berlin takes measures against Russian journalists there, RIA news agency reports.
Maria Zakharova made the comments after Germany’s ambassador in Russia was reportedly summoned yesterday over a leaked recording of a conversation between high-ranking German officers. In the recording, they discussed the country’s Ukraine war strategy and the potential to supply new missiles.
Upon being summoned, Russia says Alexander Graf Lambsdorff was given stern words over alleged attempts by Berlin to restrict the activities of Russian journalists in Germany.
“If they touch Russian correspondents and bring their plans to conclusion, German journalists will leave Russia,” Ms Zakharova said.
Germany later said Mr Lambsdorff was not summoned and the meeting was pre-planned.
Yesterday, German authorities confirmed the authenticity of the leaked recording, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz calling the leak a “very serious matter”.
However, defence minister Boris Pistorius suggested Russia had used a level of “choreography”.
He claimed the leak was timed to deflect attention away from Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s funeral.
Ukrainian sea drones hit Black Sea fleet patrol ship near Crimea
Ukrainian sea drones have damaged a Russian Black Sea Fleet patrol ship off occupied Crimea, Ukraine’s military intelligence has reported this morning.
The intelligence agency said on Telegram that its special unit attacked the Sergey Kotov ship near the Kerch Strait.
“As a result of a strike by Magura V5 maritime drones, the Russian ship Project 22160 Sergey Kotov sustained damage to the stern, starboard and port sides,” it said.
The message added that the ship was worth about $65m.
Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, has said on Telegram that “the Russian Black Sea Fleet is a symbol of occupation” and that “it cannot be in the Ukrainian Crimea”, in an apparent reference to the strike.
Train traffic was temporarily stopped on the bridge linking the Crimean peninsula to the Russian mainland, according to reports.
Good morning – here’s the latest
We’ll be bringing you live updates throughout the day as the fallout continues over a leaked discussion between high ranking German military officers.
A prominent Russian journalist released audio of the German officers discussing the country’s war strategy – something that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described as a “very serious matter”.
Meanwhile, our military analyst Sean Bell said Russia had likely released details of its interception in a bid to prevent Germany from sending its Taurus missiles to Ukraine (these were discussed in the recording).
Elsewhere, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi is set to visit Russia – and may hold talks with Vladimir Putin.
Before we bring you the latest updates, here’s more news from the last 24 hours…
- Germany rejected reports Russia had summoned its ambassador over the leak incident;
- Albania reopened a Soviet-era air base in a boost to NATO’s presence in the region;
- Ukraine claimed a civilian was killed by cluster munitions in the Zaporizhzhia region;
- US airman Jake Teixeira plead guilty to leaking Pentagon documents containing sensitive information on Ukraine;
- Two first responders were killed in a secondary Russian strike as they worked to put out a fire, Ukraine’s interior minister said.
The map below shows the territorial picture in Ukraine…
We’re pausing our live coverage for now
We’ll be back soon to bring you the latest updates on the war in Ukraine.
You can scroll back through the blog to read what happened today.
Ukraine begins talks on security guarantees with Spain
Ukraine and Spain have begun discussions on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office.
Officials discussed the structure of the future deal and agreed a schedule for further negotiations.
More than 30 countries have already joined the G7 Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine, including the UK, Germany, France, Denmark and the Netherlands.
Members of the G7 presented a plan for long-term security commitments for Ukraine at the NATO summit in July last year.
The plan agrees individual countries will provide bilateral support to help Ukraine push back against the Russian invasion and deter future aggression.
They also cover areas such as sanctions, financial aid and post-war reconstruction.
Thousands of Belarusians convicted ‘on politically driven charges’
A leading Belarusian human rights group has said thousands of people in the country have been convicted on politically driven charges over the last three years.
The Viasna human rights centre said at least 4,690 people have been convicted on politically motivated charges since the August 2020 presidential election that fuelled major protests.
The actual figure could be higher as activists don’t know all the convicts’ names, the group said.
A spokesperson for Viasna, Pavel Sapelka, said the scale of repression in Belarus is even broader than in neighbouring Russia.
He said at least 1,300 people faced criminal investigation on political grounds last year alone.
“Even a suspicion of disloyalty is enough to trigger political repressions,” he said.
The contentious 2020 vote, which handed President Alexander Lukashenko his sixth term in office, had caused mass protests which authorities responded to with sweeping crackdowns.
More than 35,000 people were arrested at the time and thousands beaten in police custody.
Mr Lukashenko has relied on subsidies and political support from his main ally, Russia, to survive the protests.
He then allowed Moscow to use Belarusian territory to send troops into Ukraine in February 2022.
Two first responders killed in secondary Russian strike
Two rescuers have been killed as they were putting out a fire caused by an earlier attack, Ukraine’s interior minister has said.
The strike on the Kramatorsk area, in the eastern region of Donetsk, also injured a further three first responders.
Oleg Martynenko and Bohdan Ravlyk, aged 29 and 31, were named as the two men who died.
Interior minister Ihor Klymenko said: “Our rescuers have no weapons, they risked their lives so that others could live.”
The State Emergency Service’s spokesman, Oleksandr Khorunzhyi, said in August last year that over 70 Ukrainian rescuers had been killed in Russian attacks while doing their job.
Sales of antidepressants ‘at recent record high in Russia’
Some 17 million packages of antidepressants were sold in Russia in 2023, according to Russian daily newspaper Vedomosti.
This is a record for the last few years, the paper said.
Sales of the drugs were at 15 million the year before, and 11 million the year before that.
Russian media reports say the increase in demand surged after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
