German foreign intelligence told the nation’s parliamentary committee it had intercepted radio communications where Russian soldiers discussed killing Ukrainian civilians, Der Spiegel reported from a source with knowledge of the meeting.

BND, Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, managed to intercept Russian radio chatter about killing civilians in Bucha, the Kyiv suburb, where the emergence of mass graves has given rise to renewed accusations of war crimes against Russia. 

Some of the conversations can be directly tied to the killings there, which have been documented now that the news of the massacre has become public, Der Spiegel noted. 

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Notably, the German foreign intelligence hasn’t commented on the matter and a German government spokesperson declined to comment on Der Spiegel’s report on the matter. 

However, Germany’s audio intercepts aren’t the first instance Russian troops have been implicated in the murder of civilians. Ukraine’s Security Service also released a set of recordings indicating Russian troops received orders to kill civilians in the war-torn country.  

In one of these alleged intercepts, a soldier describes what seems to be a car with two civilians. “F**king kill them all, for f**k’s sake!”, comes the reply, as CNN reported. 

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The events in Bucha have left the world rattled, with a chilling video emerging where a woman on a cycle is shot dead in the street. After Russian troops withdrew, international media uncovered at least 20 bodies of civilians in the same street. 

German intelligence also apparently has satellite images that pinpoint Russian troop movements in Bucha, the Washington Post reported, from an unnamed intelligence official. However, their radio intercepts are not linked to the same location. 

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Since Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, there have been accusations of war crimes, especially when President Vladimir Putin’s soldiers began targeting civilians. While a chance at peace talks remained on the table, with Ukrainian counter Volodymyr Zelensky offering a “compromise for all“, the recent news from Bucha has soured talks for now.