Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has received 337 tipoffs about possible war crimes in Ukraine, DW reported citing Welt am Sonntag. The newspaper cites government figures from February 2022 until mid-April, stating that investigators have interviewed around 90 eyewitnesses about alleged atrocities committed by Russian soldiers during the war in Ukraine. Two-thirds of those questioned were refugees from Ukraine who have since fled to Germany, while other sources were German nationals in Ukraine.
The BKA, Germany’s equivalent of the FBI, has provided forensics support to Ukrainian investigators probing war crimes. The German government reportedly provided security authorities in Kyiv with “goods, especially for securing evidence and documentation,” as well as “motor vehicles and other management and operational resources” totaling more than €11.5 million ($12.8 million).
German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann told Welt am Sonntag that those responsible for the war, including Putin, should be held accountable in court, ideally before the International Criminal Court (ICC). He added that this applies not only to Putin but also to others “who are responsible for the terrible crimes against international law on Ukrainian soil.”
Germany’s Federal Public Prosecutor General Peter Frank initiated investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity within weeks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year. The initial focus has been on mass killings in Bucha, a town near the Ukrainian capital. Prosecutors in Kyiv say that Russian forces killed some 1,400 civilians around Bucha.
