Bucha murders: German report says Russian troops discussed killings

Russian troops were heard discussing killing civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, in messages intercepted by German intelligence, German media say.

Der Spiegel magazine says some of the radio traffic tracked by the BND intelligence agency appears to match locations of bodies just outside Kyiv.

The BND has so far made no public comments on the issue.

Ukraine says more than 300 civilians were killed by the Russians in Bucha - Moscow denies any involvement.

Recent images of Bucha streets strewn with bodies have shocked the international community. Some of the victims appeared to have been shot in the back of the head after their hands were tied.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of genocide, an accusation flatly rejected by Moscow.

Warning: This piece contains graphic images which some may find upsetting.

Bucha was seized by Russian troops soon after President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.

After more than a month, the Russians eventually withdrew from Bucha, and Ukrainian forces soon entered the town.

The BND's intelligence was shared with German parliamentarians during a briefing on Wednesday, Der Spiegel reported on Thursday.

In one intercepted radio message, the magazine said, Russian soldiers appeared to be talking about interrogating people and then shooting them.

In another, a soldier talked about shooting someone on a bike, which appeared to match a notorious photo showing a dead cyclist in Bucha.

According to Spiegel, the intercepts also appeared to indicate that mercenaries from Russia's private Wagner group played a key role in the Bucha killings.

An unnamed security source told Reuters news agency: "It's true that the [German] federal government has indications of Russian perpetration in Bucha".

"However, these findings on Bucha refer to satellite images. The radio transmissions cannot be clearly assigned to Bucha."

Russia says its forces withdrew from Bucha on 30 March. The Ukrainians say this happened in the early hours of 31 March.

On 1 April, footage was posted filmed from a car driving through the town which showed bodies on either side of a road.

Russia has claimed, without providing evidence, that the footage shows "fake dead bodies" and it was "staged" after its troops had left the town.

However, a satellite image from 19 March, first reported by the New York Times and confirmed by the BBC, directly contradicted the Russian claim.

The photo by the Maxar technology company shows objects that appear to be bodies in the exact locations where they were subsequently found by Ukrainian forces when they regained control of the town north of Kyiv.