MOSCOW, March 1. /TASS/. Speculations by German officers about the possibility of attacking the Crimean bridge without consequences for the German authorities are leading to an escalation of the conflict, the chairman of the State Duma’s Defense Committee Andrey Kartapolov has told TASS.
"Naturally, such statements by no means enhance stability or calm. They cause nothing but an escalation and tensions," he emphasized.
Kartapolov remarked it was an open secret that "officers and other servicemen of various NATO countries are engaged in Ukraine."
"They are there unofficially. But the fact that they are there helping with planning is a hard fact. The notorious counter-offensive was planned by the Americans. We also remember how it all ended. We also know that they have losses, too. To what extent they may want to further expand and somehow legalize the whole affair is the problem of our European partners. May they go ahead, though. It remains to be seen what will come of it," Kartapolov said.
Earlier, the RT broadcaster’s editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan reported that on the day when German Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed that NATO was not participating and would not participate in the Ukrainian conflict, high-ranking German officers were discussing the possibility of attacking the Crimean bridge in a way that would help avoid consequences for the German authorities. Simonyan said there was an audio recording of this conversation.
State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said that Russian lawmakers would raise the issue of German high-ranking officers discussing an attack on the Crimean bridge at the forthcoming session of the lower house. He emphasized that the legislators should demand the Bundestag conduct an investigation. He stated that the "recording of the conversation that has been made public obliges the German leadership to give explanations.".