Russian soldiers openly discussed killing civilians in radio messages obtained by German intelligence
ByJustin Huggler BERLIN
7 April 2022 • 10:42am
Radio messages which prove Russian forces deliberately murdered Ukrainian civilians in Bucha have reportedly been intercepted by German intelligence.
The intercepted messages could play a key role in establishing that Russia committed war crimes in Ukraine.
Russian soldiers openly discuss the killings in the recordings, according to details leaked to Spiegelmagazine.
In one instance, a Russian soldier says he has just shot a cyclist. The description matches pictures and video from the town.
One video (watch below) recorded during the fighting shows two armoured vehicles opening fire on a cyclist. A second video shot after Russian forces withdrew shows the dead body of a cyclist wearing the same clothes.
In a second recording obtained by German intelligence a Russian can be heard ordering: “Question the soldiers first, then kill them”.
If confirmed, the recordings would refute Russia’s attempts to claim its troops were not behind the killings, or that they were “staged” by the Ukrainian government.
They would also indicate the killings were systematic and deliberate, and not rogue acts by individual soldiers.
That could prove crucial in any future war crimes prosecution over the atrocities committed in Bucha.
The messages were intercepted by Germany’s BND foreign intelligence service, according to Spiegel.
Their existence emerged in a briefing given by intelligence officers to a parliamentary committee, details of which were leaked to the magazine.
The recordings also appear to indicate the “Wagner Group” paramilitary organisation played a role in the killings, according to the report.
No details are given but the Wagner Group has been active in Ukraine for many years.
Ostensibly a private mercenary company, it has repeatedly been deployed alongside Russian forces.
It has been accused of war crimes in Ukraine, Syria and elsewhere and Vladimir Putin is believed to use it to distance official Russian forces from his more extreme actions and provide plausible deniability.
Eyewitness reports from Bucha described how Russian tactics became more brutal when young soldiers involved in early fighting in the town were replaced by new units.
It is believed this could be evidence of a deliberate strategy of using specialist units to sow terror by targeting civilians. Some witnesses described the new arrivals as Chechens.
The scale of killing in Bucha emerged last weekend when Russian forces withdrew, leaving the streets littered with the bodies of civilians.
The BND has more disturbing recordings of intercepted radio messages which appear to indicate further Russian atrocities in other locations which have yet to emerge, according to the report.
The intelligence service is analysing the recordings to determine the whereabouts of the killings they describe.
Some are believed to suggest similar war crimes may have been committed in and around the besieged city of Mariupol.
The port city on the coast of the Sea of Azov has seen some of the most intense Russian bombardment of the war.
Planned, systematic genocide.
Time for the putinazis to be ordered out of Ukraine now.
Or be annihilated by US/UK air power.
Enough is enough.
There’s now fake videos circulating showing ukrainian war crimes against ruSSians. They are totally cheap. RuSSians dressed as ukrainians shoot some comrades while shouting ‘Slava Ukrayiny’. Totally fake and a poor attempt to encounter the outrage about ruSSian rapists.
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/04/07/graphic-video-shows-ukrainian-troops-killing-russian-soldiers-outside-kyiv-nyt-a77256
Mike they identified that unit was either a Georgian or Chechnya. It was NOT a Ukrainian military unit.
The foreign units were fighting on behalf of Ukraine
“It has been accused of war crimes in Ukraine, Syria and elsewhere and Vladimir Putin is believed to use it to distance official Russian forces from his more extreme actions and provide plausible deniability.”
This is NOT plausible deniability. This is called consensual homicide or incitement to commit a crime. Putler is just as guilty for such crimes as those actually committing them. Looking at such crimes and accepting them as having plausible deniability on part of the contractor is utterly wrongful and only a cheap convenience for those who should know better.
Indeed, so far, much evidence has been uncovered to punish many in the cockroach army if this should ever come to pass.
On a side note, it’s funny how apparent Ukrainian atrocities are being made public by mafia land NOW, AFTER Bucha et al.