Russian soldiers admit killing civilians in intercepted calls

Germany's foreign intelligence service has intercepted radio communications between Russian soldiers wherein they could allegedly be heard talking about killing civilians in Ukraine.

The reports of these radio communications were first published in the German news magazine Spiegel. It claimed that Russian soldiers spoke of how they questioned civilians and soldiers before shooting them. "Firstly, you question the soldier, then you shoot them," a Russian soldier could be heard saying.

It further stated that the German intelligence service, BND has shown the evidence to the parliamentarians. The soldiers could be heard talking about shooting a man while he was riding a bicycle. Drone footage taken before March 10 points to the same and shows a person being gunned down on a street in Bucha.

Last week, the Ukrainian Security Service (SSU) also claimed that it had intercepted radio communications between Russian soldiers and heard them talking about "eating dogs and raping Ukrainian women."

A Ukrainian woman has also claimed that she was raped by two Russian soldiers who first shot her husband dead at her house in a village located close to Kyiv on March 9.

She alleged that the Russian troops targeted the family despite them having put a white sheet on their gate to show that there were civilians in the house.

Raping women, harassing civilians, and torturing animals constitute war crimes, Ukraine has been accusing Russia of committing war crimes for weeks now.

The revelations come amid international outrage and condemnation over the alleged civilians' killings in Ukraine's Bucha. Russian troops are being accused of targeting civilians in cities and towns under their occupation.

A mass grave was also discovered in Bucha last week after the withdrawal of Russian troops from the town.

The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday suspended Russia from the UN Human Rights Council over reports of "gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights" by Russian soldiers.

However, Russia has denied any role in the deaths and suggested photos of the corpses are "fakes." But evidence of atrocities has been mounting by the day as Ukrainian authorities access ground occupied by Russia before soldiers withdrew to regroup for an attack in the east.