The US government on Monday accused Russia of trying to stir up mistrust among Ukraine and its Western allies by publishing an intercepted online call between senior German Air Force officers about the war.
Russia's leak last Friday of the 38-minute conversation between top military personnel has proved a major embarrassment for Berlin, which has described the recording as part of Moscow's "information war."
White House national security spokesman John Kirby weighed in on the national security breach suffered by one of Washington's closest allies, saying Moscow was trying to "sow discord."
"This is a bold attempt, a transparent attempt by the Russians to try to sow discord and to try to show division and try to make it look like the West isn't unified," Kirby said.
Russia was also trying to make it appear as if the government of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is not "unified on what they're doing" for Kiev, Kirby said.
The officers can be heard on the call discussing the possibility of sending Germany's longer-range Taurus cruise missiles to Kiev - a move that Scholz has stridently rejected publicly for months.
The Luftwaffe officials say that the missiles could, for instance, destroy the bridge to the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Moscow in violation of international law.
According to the officers, a swift delivery and deployment of the Taurus missiles would only be possible under the direct involvement of German forces.
Deployment solely under Ukrainian command would be possible, they say, but the necessary training for Ukrainian soldiers would likely take months.
The clip also contains a diplomatically sensitive reference to the British having "a few people on the ground" in Ukraine, in connection with the Storm Shadow cruise missiles sent to the country.
