According to a security source, the German government has evidence that Russia was engaged in the massacre of people in the Ukrainian town of Bucha based on satellite photographs.
The intelligence service has intercepted radio transmissions from Russian military sources discussing the massacre of civilians in Bucha, according to the German news magazine Der Spiegel.
Germany Found Proof of Russian Involvement in Bucha Killings
The insider did not go into further detail. He said that no directive from the Russian military's general staff had been issued about Bucha. Following their February 24 invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces besieged Bucha, 37 kilometers (23 miles) northwest of Kyiv, for more than a month.
According to local reports, Russian soldiers murdered about 300 individuals in Bucha alone, with roughly 50 of them executed. The charges are denied by Moscow. The German intelligence service intercepted the radio messages and submitted the results to parliament on Wednesday, without citing a source, as per Reuters.
Spiegel further claimed that there were more sound recordings whose physical origin was more difficult to determine, implying that similar incidents had occurred in other Ukrainian cities.
A representative for the German government declined to comment on the Spiegel allegations. Russia has been accused of genocide and war crimes by Ukraine. Western claims that Russian soldiers murdered people in Bucha, according to the Kremlin, are a "monstrous forgery" intended to discredit the Russian army and justify fresh Western sanctions.
The proof of civilian killings is a clever trick by Ukraine and its Western supporters, who are driven by anti-Russian paranoia, according to Russia.
Messages demonstrate that the troops discussed potential war crimes on a regular basis, as if they were discussing their daily lives. According to the BND, this proves how the killings were mainstreamed and were part of a planned effort to instill fear and dread in the civilian population. Intelligence chiefs are analyzing further recordings "with significant concern" that have yet to be linked to a specific location in Ukraine, as per Daily Mail.
France Summons Russian Envoy
They do reveal crime scenes similar to those seen in Bucha in other towns around the nation, notably in the area of Mariupol, which is being heavily bombarded. Two former German government ministers have filed a criminal complaint with federal prosecutors, requesting the beginning of a war crimes investigation of Russian authorities, including Vladimir Putin.
Former Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger and former Interior Minister Gerhart Baum have stated that they want to use German legislation that allows for the prosecution of major crimes committed abroad to bring those responsible for atrocities in Ukraine to justice. Earlier this year, Germany's use of the rule of "universal jurisdiction" resulted in the first conviction of a top Syrian official for crimes against humanity.
Meanwhile, the French government summoned Russia's ambassador to Paris for discussions on Thursday after his embassy shared a photo on Twitter purporting to depict a "film set" by Ukrainians faking civilian massacres in Bucha, which has sparked international outcry.
Late Wednesday, France's Europe Minister, Clement Beaune, tweeted that the embassy's assertion was "beyond shame: Stop," NDTV reported. Ukrainian officials believe hundreds of civilian deaths were discovered in Bucha and other cities around Kyiv last weekend after Russian soldiers abandoned their drive into the city.
Despite Kremlin accusations that the fatalities were either staged or carried out by Ukrainian soldiers, the terrible photos that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky labeled "war crimes" prompted worldwide criticism from Ukraine's allies.
