Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said that "denazification" in Germany has not been completed, warning it of "dire consequences" after Russian propaganda leaked secret talks between high-ranking German Air Force officers.

"They (Germans – ed.), as we now understand, have not been fully denazified... The most terrible thing is that this will lead – and this is a fact, you can check… if nothing is done, if this process is not stopped by the German people themselves – first of all, [it will lead] to terrible consequences for Germany itself," Zakharova said as quoted by the Russian RIA Novosti news agency.

Zakharova said that the West "must be held accountable for the destructive actions that it planned and largely implemented".

The Federal Ministry of Defence of Germany has initiated an investigation into whether the conversations of representatives of its air force – who, according to Russian propaganda, allegedly discussed blowing up the Crimean bridge with Taurus missiles – were intercepted.

Germany’s Defence Ministry later confirmed the interception.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius commented on the scandal, noting that it was a hybrid attack that aimed to sow disinformation.