NATO 'In Hot Water': What Does Bundeswehr's Crimean Bridge Strike Discussions Leak Mean?

The Russian Foreign Ministry has demanded an "immediate explanation" from Berlin on the audio recording released earlier this week by Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group.

In it, German generals are heard discussing a potential attack on the Crimean Bridge with Taurus missiles.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stressed in a statement that attempts by German authorities "to dodge the question will be considered an admission of guilt."

High-ranking German officers discussed launching strikes on "Russian civilian infrastructure either with the tacit official consent of Berlin or behind its back; both variants are the matter of serious concern," military expert Robinson Farinazzo, a former Brazilian Navy officer, said in an interview with Sputnik.

"The authorities are either aware of everything or they knew nothing, which means it was the military’s conspiracy – something that should be punished accordingly, right down to an option of all those involved being brought to tribunal," Farinazzo said.

"If Berlin was in the know, it can be likened to a declaration of war," he insisted, urging Moscow and Berlin to use diplomatic channels to defuse tensions over this information "about aggressive intentions."

German News Agency Confirms Authenticity of Officers' Leaked Discussion of Attack on Crimean Bridge

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According to the expert, "It's hard to imagine what measures Moscow might take if it considers actions by the German officers a serious provocation."

The former Brazilian naval officer also drew attention to German authorities keeping mum on the matter. Likewise, how the information comes amid disagreements among Western countries on additional military aid to the Kiev regime, including the possibility of providing Ukraine with the Taurus cruise missiles and sending NATO military units to the country.

In this vein, Farinazzo said he believes that further developments will depend on whether the US Congress will okay more supplies to Ukraine or not. Even if Congress gives the green light, this will only add to prolonging the conflict and will fail to change the situation on the battlefield in favor of Ukraine, per the expert.

"The West and high-ranking NATO officers have already realized the fact that Ukraine cannot win. A potential strike on the Crimean Bridge would be tangible from a psychological point of view, but it would hardly affect the course of the special military operation, since Russia instead can use railroad or sea transport," Farinazzo said.

International relations expert Tito Livio Barcellos Pereira from the Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo, for his part said that the conversation once again raises doubts about the veracity of previous claims by Western authorities that NATO countries are not involved in the Ukraine conflict.

"NATO countries, which previously argued that they were not directly involved in the conflict and only limit themselves to sending aid to Kiev, have found themselves in hot water. Their claims are becoming less credible, while Russia's arguments are sounding more convincing," the expert underscored.

Full Text: Bundeswehr Officials' Leaked Conversation About Potential Attack on Crimea Bridge

2 March, 09:46

He noted that "in this situation, the leaders of Western states will probably have to explain themselves before lawmakers and the entire society of their countries, as well as before other NATO members, which have a more restrained stance."

In Pereira’s opinion, the situation could lead to an even greater escalation of tensions between Russia and NATO, especially given that the alliance "does not want to hear the arguments by Moscow, which has repeatedly warned against the alliance's infrastructure getting closer to Russian borders."

"The German military's recorded conversation once again confirms that the alliance continues to be involved in a [proxy] war with Russia," Pereira concludes, berating Kiev and the West for deliberately sabotaging all alternative peace initiatives put forward by the Global South.