Russia ramps up the rhetoric over Moldova, saying West wants to control it; Kremlin slams German military leak

Soldiers from various NATO countries on Monday took part in an instalment of NATO's Steadfast Defender 2024 military training exercise.

The months-long exercise is the largest since the Cold War and will take place in various countries across Europe and cover domains including sea, air, cyber, land and space, NATO said in a statement in January.

— Sophie Kiderlin

The West is seeking to take control of the leadership of Moldova as it did with Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.

"From the very beginning of the post-Soviet era, the West began to wedge itself into relations between Russia and its neighbors. They are still pursuing the same policy," Lavrov said, news agency RIA Novosti reported, with the comments translated by Google.

Lavrov's comments will raise eyebrows among Western observers who fear that Moscow could use a request by pro-Russian separatists in the breakaway region of Transnistria in Moldova for "protection" as a precursor to trying to annexing the region.

Similarly to Ukraine, Moldova has a pro-Western government and wants to join the European Union, meaning relations with Russia continue to be tense.

"This is also visible in Central Asia , in the Transcaucasus. This is also visible in the European part of the former USSR: Ukraine, Moldova, which they are simply openly preparing to become the successor of Ukraine from the point of view of taking over its entire leadership," Lavrov said during a speech at the World Youth Festival in Sochi.

Russia's Foreign Ministry responded to the request last week by saying that the interests of the residents of Transnistria — calling them "compatriots" — was one of Russia's priorities and that it would carefully consider the request, the ministry told RIA Novosti.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russia's state railway company said on Monday it had been forced to cancel and re-route some trains in the Samara region after an explosion at a rail bridge, which Ukrainian military intelligence claimed was used by trains carrying ammunition.

An explosion rocked the bridge, which spans the River Chapayevka near the Russian city of Samara, around 530 miles (850 km) southeast of Moscow, early on Monday morning, Russian news agencies reported, citing emergency services.

Located on the Volga river, the Samara region is one of Russia's heavy industry hubs.

Ukrainian military intelligence issued a statement in which it "confirmed" but did not take responsibility for the blast. It said the rail line was used by Russia to transport military cargo, including ammunition made at a factory nearby.

It forecast the bridge would be out of use for some time.

Reuters could not confirm the Ukrainian assertion. Russia regards the location of its military factories as a state secret. Russia and Ukraine have targeted each other's infrastructure in the course of the two-year war that Moscow calls a "special military operation".

Traffic over the bridge was suspended due to what local rail authorities called "illegal interference." One image posted on social media and verified by Reuters showed some damage to the metal structure of the bridge on one side but the concrete support appeared intact.

Local media in Samara said sappers and Russia's National Guard were on the scene. Unverified images posted on social media showed what looked like at least one homemade bomb on the scene which had not gone off. Nobody was reported to have been hurt in the incident.

— Reuters

A senior Russian official and close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow would show "restraint" in its response to a purported audio recording, in which German military officials discussed potential Russian targets in Ukraine — but he added that Russia would not forget the event.

"We will of course show restraint, but we will remember it all," former President Dmitry Medvedev, the current deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said during a speech at a youth festival in the Black Sea city of Sochi.

"The diplomatic road is not closed. But they [Germany] must remember what we did to them during the Great Patriotic War. Let them remember it," he said, referencing the Soviet Union's major contribution to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.

Germany confirmed the recording was genuine, but said it wasn't sure if it had been edited before it was released by the Russian media last Friday. Berlin said it is investigating how an audio recording of German military officials discussing Ukraine was leaked.

In the audio, German officials are heard discussing the possibility of sending long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine — a move that has not been endorsed by Germany's leadership — and what targets could be hit, including the Crimean bridge linking the Russian mainland to Crimea.

— Holly Ellyatt

The European Union must allow Ukrainian food producers access to EU markets long term, rather than just extending measures year by year, leaving them at the mercy of political pressures, a senior Ukrainian official said on Monday.

Ukraine wants to permanently remove tariffs and quotas on EU agricultural imports by updating its trade deal with the EU, or at least extend the current suspension for three years, Markiyan Dmytrasevych, deputy minister for agrarian policy and food, said.

"We need something more convenient for planning," he told Reuters in an interview during a trip to Brussels. "A lot of resources go into these talks every year. Then we have new demands, new protests in the EU and its member states."

Ukrainian food exporters have faced a wave of protests, including blockades of border crossings, from EU farmers in recent months, with many angry over what they say is unfair competition from cheaper Ukrainian imports.

The European Commission has proposed import duties and quotas on Ukrainian farm produce - originally suspended in 2022 after Russia's invasion, which hit shipments via the Black Sea - be lifted for another year to June 2025.

The proposal introduces an "emergency brake" for poultry, eggs and sugar, allowing tariffs if imports exceed the average levels of 2022 and 2023.

A majority of EU governments backed the proposal, but the situation among lawmakers is unclear. A parliamentary committee is set to vote on the proposal on Thursday, but with a number of possible amendments.

— Reuters

A German foreign ministry spokesperson said that a meeting between the German ambassador to Moscow and the Russian foreign ministry on Monday had been planned in advance, denying that the official had been abruptly "summoned."

Speaking to reporters, Wolfgang Büchner replied with a clear "no," when asked if the ambassador had been summoned, NBC reported. He also described Russian claims that Germany was preparing to strike against Russia as "absurd, malicious propaganda."

Earlier Monday, Russian news agency Tass said the foreign ministry had summoned German Ambassador Alexander Lambsdorff after the leak of an audio recording of German military officials discussing Ukraine and the possible targeting of Russian infrastructure in occupied Ukraine.

Lambsdorff was pictured leaving the Russian foreign ministry in Moscow on Monday.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russia has more friends than enemies, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with the mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported.

"We have more friends [than enemies]. There is another well-known expression: to be our friend and enemy is equally honorable," Putin said.

Putin said Russia was not facing "empty threats" and that the authorities must keep this in mind. The comments appeared to be an allusion to an audio recording seemingly intercepted by the Russian authorities that involved German military officials discussing Ukraine and Russian targets.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russia's Supreme Court has upheld a ruling barring opposition politician Boris Nadezhdin from running in this month's presidential election, Nadezhdin said on Monday.

Nadezhdin was barred from standing when the Central Election Commission said it had found irregularities, including names of dead people, in the list of supporters' signatures he had presented in support of his candidacy.

— Reuters

The Kremlin said a call between German military officers that was leaked by Russian media last Friday showed that the German military department "is substantively and specifically discussing plans for strikes on Russian territory," Russia Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday.

"In itself [the military's conversation] suggests that within the Bundeswehr plans to launch strikes on the territory of the Russian Federation are being substantively and specifically discussed ... Everything here is more than obvious," Peskov said, news agency Tass reported.

Russian media leaked a 38-minute recording last Friday in which senior German officers discussed the possibility of sending long-range missiles to Ukraine, as well as the possibility of attacking the Crimean Bridge that links the Russian mainland with annexed peninsula Crimea. 

The Kremlin spokesperson said the audio recording raised the question of whether the plans the German military officials had discussed were part of German state policy. In any case, Peskov claimed that the recording proved "the direct involvement of Western countries in the conflict around Ukraine."

Peskov said Russia would assess the results of the German investigation into the leak that was announced by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russia's Foreign Ministry has summoned the German ambassador, after the leak of an audio recording of German military officials discussing Ukraine and the possible targeting of Russian infrastructure in occupied Ukraine.

Germany's ambassador to Moscow, Alexander Lambsdorff, was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday "in connection with a conversation between German officers regarding the attacks on the Crimean Bridge," news agency Tass reported, citing an unnamed source.

The summons comes after Russian media leaked a 38-minute recording in which senior German officers discussed the possibility of sending long-range missiles to Ukraine, as well as attacking the Crimean Bridge that links the Russian mainland with annexed peninsula Crimea. 

The officers purportedly discussed the extent to which Taurus missiles were capable of destroying the Crimean Bridge, as well as the details of the preparation of the attack.

Germany confirmed the call was real but said it couldn't tell whether it had been edited. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has demanded an investigation into the leaking of the call, which Der Spiegel magazine said was held on the WebEx platform rather than a secure internal army network. On Sunday, Germany's defense minister accused Russia of waging an "information war" against it.

— Holly Ellyatt

The window of opportunity to help Ukraine is "slowly closing", a British lawmaker and former chair of the country's parliamentary defense committee said Monday as he commented on the furore over the leak of a German military meeting.

"The window to support Ukraine is slowly closing and we need to give them the military equipment the need and that includes those [German-made] Taurus missiles," Tobias Ellwood told the BBC's Today program Monday.

Ellwood was asked to comment on the Russia media's publication last Friday of a 38-minute recording of a call in which German officers were heard discussing weapons for Ukraine. In the recording, German military officials are heard discussing the possible delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Kyiv, which Chancellor Olaf Scholz has publicly so far firmly rejected.

They also discussed the training of Ukrainian soldiers, and possible military targets such as the bridge over the Kerch Strait that links Russia to annexed peninsula Crimea.

Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius responded Sunday, accusing Russia of conducting an "information war" and "hybrid disinformation attack" aimed at creating divisions within the country. Russia denies spreading false or misleading information.

When asked about the leak, Conservative Party lawmaker Tobias Ellwood said it raised questions over security protocol in Germany, and said it revealed tensions between senior German military and the German chancellor when it comes to the sending of long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine.

"Scholz seems to believe that selling peace to his domestic audience will help his political standing but in reality this means, selling out to Russia."

Ellwood refused to comment on the apparent accidental leaking of British military secrets in the German phone call, in which German officers said the U.K. had troops "on the ground" in Ukraine. Britain already trains Ukrainian troops and supplies weaponry.

— Holly Ellyatt

Germany's defense minister said on Sunday Russia was conducting an "information war" aimed at creating divisions within Germany, his first reaction to the publication in Russia of an audio recording of a meeting of senior German military officials.

Russian media on Friday published a 38-minute recording of a call in which German officers were heard discussing weapons for Ukraine and a potential strike by Kyiv on a bridge in Crimea, prompting Russian officials to demand an explanation.

On Saturday, Germany called it an apparent act of eavesdropping and said it was investigating.

"The incident is much more than just the interception and publication of a conversation ... It is part of an information war that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is waging," Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Sunday.

"It is a hybrid disinformation attack. It is about division. It is about undermining our unity."

The Kremlin has repeatedly denied accusations of spreading false or misleading information when faced with allegations from other countries.

A Russian foreign ministry spokesperson said on social media on Friday: "We demand an explanation from Germany," without detailing its particular concerns.

Russia's embassy in Berlin has not responded to an emailed request for comment.

Participants in the call discuss the possible delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Kyiv, which Chancellor Olaf Scholz has publicly so far firmly rejected. They also talk about the training of Ukrainian soldiers, and possible military targets.

-- Reuters

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said political will among his country's international partners is required to ensure that Ukraine secures the military supplies it needs.

"Each partner knows what is needed. The main thing is the political will to implement everything. To provide exactly the level of supply that will help," Zelenskyy said on Telegram Sunday.

"If this does not happen, it will be one of the most shameful pages of history — if America or Europe lose to the Iranian "Shahed" [Iranian-made drones] or Russian fighters," he added.

There are concerns that the window of opportunity for supporting Ukraine is gradually closing, with Russia emboldened from recent gains in the east and continuing reluctance among some Western partners — such as Germany and some prominent Republicans in the U.S. — to supply more military aid or more advanced weapons (such as long-range Taurus missiles when it comes to Berlin).

— Holly Ellyatt