In the recordings, US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and Washington's Kiev ambassador frankly discuss which opposition figures should go into the new Ukrainian government -- comments that play directly into Russia's charges of Western meddling in its neighbour's affairs."That would be great I think to help glue this thing and have the UN glue it and you know, f**k the EU," Nuland says at one point.
Nuland herself did not dispute the authenticity of the call while refusing further comment.
"I will not comment on a private diplomatic conversation," Nuland told reporters in Kiev on Friday.
"It was pretty impressive tradecraft," she added. "Audio quality was very good."
The US State Department immediately pointed an incriminating finger at Russia for allegedly bugging diplomats' phones.
"Certainly we think this is a new low in Russian tradecraft," US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.