German intelligence listens to radio traffic: Russians had a plan for the Butch massacre

Der Spiegel reports that German intelligence has tapped radio traffic from the Russian military in connection with the killing of civilians in Bucha and appears to have been part of the plan.

Bundesnachrichtndienst (BND), Germany's foreign intelligence service, has received terrible new knowledge of atrocities committed by Russian military forces in the town of Bucha near the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.

Part of the surveillance radio traffic may be directly linked to the lifeless bodies photographed in Bucha.

After the Russian Army's withdrawal from the city over the weekend, a mass grave was discovered, as well as the bodies of several dozen dead civilians lying on the street. The hands of some of the victims were tied, while other troops had signs of torture. Many women and children are said to be among the victims.

The Russian government has strongly denied that Russian forces are responsible for these war crimes. Some claims have been made completely groundless that alleged war crimes have been insisted by Ukraine. These claims, however, were rejected by statements by numerous witnesses interviewed by reporters by Der Spiegel and other news outlets in the town of Bucha.

Der Spiegel has learned that the BND briefed MPs Wednesday on its findings. Part of the surveillance traffic seems to match the location of troops found along the main road across the city. In one of them, a soldier apparently told another that they had just shot a person on a bicycle. This corresponds to the picture of the lifeless body lying near a bicycle that has been distributed around the world. In another bugged conversation, a man apparently said: First interview the soldiers, then shoot them.

The BND material also apparently provides evidence that members of the Russian mercenary unit called the Wagner Group played a leading role in atrocities. The group is known to have committed similar atrocities in Syria.

Eyewitnesses recently reported that the invading force in Bucha initially consisted of new <x0 user”. After they were replaced by other entities, witnesses said, attacks on civilians became more frequent. Eyewitnesses said Chechen units were in town. Accounts raise the question of whether this progress was part of the invasion plan.

BND radio traffic makes it seem that atrocities committed against civilians in Bucha were neither random acts nor the product of individual soldiers who went out of control. Rather, say sources familiar with audio, the material suggests that troops talked about atrocities as if they were simply discussing their daily lives.

This, say sources familiar with the audio, shows that killing civilians has become a standard element of Russian military activity, potentially part of a broader strategy. The goal is to spread fear into the civilian population and thus reduce the will to resist.

Der Spiegel has learned that more surveillance radio traffic is currently being analyzed, although it seems to be difficult to locate some of the audio exactly. Some of the records seem to indicate that incidents like those in Bucha have occurred elsewhere. There are reportedly indicators of possible atrocities in the area around Marioupolis, the large city in southern Ukraine that is surrounded by the Russian army.