The German defence ministry said it was checking whether a confidential videoconference on the Ukraine war had been wiretapped after a recording was posted on Russian social media.
The head of Russia’s state-backed RT channel, Margarita Simonyan, on Friday posted a 38-minute audio recording of what she claimed were German officers discussing striking Crimea.
“We are investigating whether communications in the air force sector were intercepted,” a spokeswoman for the defence ministry told AFP.
In the recording, discussions can be heard on the possible use by Ukrainian forces of German-made Taurus missiles and their potential impact.
Other topics include aiming the missiles at targets such as a key bridge linking Russian-occupied Crimea to the Russian mainland over the Kerch strait.
Kyiv has long been clamouring for Germany to provide it with Taurus missiles, which can reach targets up to 500 kilometres away.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz has so far refused to send the missiles, fearing that it would lead to an escalation of the conflict.
“If this story turns out to be true, it would be a highly problematic event,” Green party politician Konstantin von Notz told the RND broadcaster.