German authorities are investing several hundred possible war crimes committed by Russian personnel in Ukraine, a top police official said.
Holger Muench, chief of the BKA federal police, told The Welt am Sonntag newspaper in an article published on June 18 that “up to now, we have received a triple-digit number of leads” concerning potential war crimes.
Muench said the probes do not only cover those suspected of directly committing war crimes but also political or military officials who may have ordered them.
"It's the most difficult part of our inquiry, intricate puzzle work," told the newspaper. "Our clear goal is to identify those responsible for atrocities, to prove their actions through our investigations, and bring them to justice," including in Germany.
German authorities are being aided by the country’s foreign intelligence service, using such evidence as recorded radio conversations of Russian soldiers.
Germany is operating under universal jurisdiction, which allows a foreign country to prosecute crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide, regardless of where they were committed.
However, "that may take time" because probes tied to the conflict in Ukraine conflict are still at their "very beginning," the police chief said.
He added that German investigators could be sent to Ukraine but only under an international mandate.