German intelligence intercepted radio transmissions in which Russian forces discussed carrying out indiscriminate killings north of the capital Kyiv, two officials said in an intelligence report.
The conversations were intercepted from Russian military radio and included one Russian telling another that you first interrogate people and then you kill them. The The interceptions were previously reported by the German newspaper Der Spiegel.
The report adds to the evidence discovered by New York Times and other organizations kill civilians in towns in northern Ukraine under Russian occupation, despite the Kremlin’s widespread denial of wrongdoing. Pictures from the town of Bucha, north of Kyiv, showing bodies – some with their hands tied or shot in the back of the head – have sparked global outrage and renewed promises by Western countries for hospital care. military aid to Ukraine.
It was not possible to confirm whether the radio transmissions collected by German intelligence were from Bucha or somewhere else near the capital, one of the officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
German intelligence reported its findings to the parliamentary intelligence monitoring committee on Wednesday.
Among the documents obtained by German intelligence were satellite images showing bodies lying on the streets of Bucha during the Russian occupation of the town. The pictures will add to the evidence, including Satellite image verified by The Timesdenied Russia’s claim that the killings occurred after its forces withdrew from Bucha.
Russia, after being thwarted in its attempt to capture Kyiv, withdrew troops it had arrayed against the capital and Chernihiv, another major city in northern Ukraine. Russian forces are currently marching in eastern Ukraine, where officials are urgently urging people to evacuate while there’s still time.
