Germany and UK promise not to let Putin divide Ukraine's allies

Germany and the UK have promised not to let Russian President Vladimir Putin divide allies amid the scandal over the leaked conversation between Bundeswehr officers regarding the supply of Taurus missiles.

"I don’t want to play into the hands of some Russian narrative about divisions between allies," UK Foreign Minister David Cameron said at a press conference with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock, as quoted by Bloomberg.

He stated that there is "incredible unity between allies", including those within NATO.

In turn, Baerbock emphasised that Ukraine's allies would not allow the Russian president to intimidate them and sow discord. 

"If we have different views, we will discuss that behind closed doors. Because we won’t let ourselves be divided by Putin, no matter what other means and methods he uses," she noted.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that the interception of classified information on the supply of Taurus missiles to Ukraine occurred because one of the Bundeswehr officers joined the conversation via an unprotected line.

As reported earlier, the Federal Ministry of Defence of Germany 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.

Subsequently, Germany's Defence Ministry confirmed that an internal conversation between German Air Force officers had been intercepted. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius commented on the scandal, noting that it is a hybrid attack with the aim of misinformation.