Putin's coveted wrecks: German BND spies are apparently capturing Russian military technology in Ukraine
Created: 12/19/2022, 5:52 p.m
By: Patrick Mayer
No longer needed?
The Russian army left a broken Mi-24 attack helicopter in Kherson.
© IMAGO/Ashley Chan
The Russian army leaves many of their destroyed tanks on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Western secret services like the BND are not only interested in this.
Munich/Kharkiv/Donbass - As is so often the case in the Ukraine war, the same applies in this case: The information cannot be independently verified from a Western perspective.
The Ukrainian media project
The Kyiv Independent
publishes a daily list of alleged losses by the Russian invading army on Twitter.
War in Ukraine: Russian army leaves much military technology behind when retreating
The online news site in turn relies on information from the Ukrainian general staff.
While Moscow neither comments nor denies the high figures given.
According to the December 19 update, an estimated 98,800 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded since February 24, the start of the war.
According to this, the Russian attackers have since lost almost 3,000 main battle tanks and almost 6,000 armored personnel carriers.
281 combat aircraft are said to have been shot down or captured, as well as 264 helicopters.
It is not known whether the numbers are really correct.
Again and again photos from Ukraine show at least abandoned Russian military equipment.
For example, recently an orphaned Mi-24 attack helicopter in Kherson, marked with the well-known “Z”.
In the video: Compact - The most important news about the Russia-Ukraine war
As the WDR now reports, the Russian wrecks from Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin's war of aggression are coveted by Western secret services - including the Federal Intelligence Service (BND).
With the help of the Ukrainian armed forces, BND spies are allegedly collecting Russian armaments and equipment, especially military material that was previously unknown in the West.
Like the T-90M main battle tank, for example.
War in Ukraine: German BND allegedly hoards captured Russian war equipment
In Germany, the military equipment will then be examined together with the Bundeswehr, according to the WDR report.
Accordingly, there were about shelling tests on armor and defense technologies.
Russian guided missiles, target detection systems and Iranian shaded drones used by Moscow are also high on the BND's wish list, West German Broadcasting continues to report.
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For classification: The Federal Intelligence Service is responsible for civilian and military foreign reconnaissance.
According to WDR, however, neither the federal authority nor the Bundeswehr or the Federal Ministry of Defense has confirmed that Germany is procuring foreign defense technology from the Russians and is sharing the findings with its NATO partners.
Kharkiv: Ukrainian soldiers stand atop a destroyed Russian tank in a retaken territory near the Russian border.
© Leo Correa/AP/dpa
The West is obviously all the more sensitive to the risk that its own modern defense technology could be captured by the Russian army.
Initially very hesitant on this issue, Germany, for example, only gradually agreed to the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine.
Western fears in the Ukraine war: Will Russia's own military equipment fall into its own hands?
In the meantime, as can be seen on the German government's website "Military support services for Ukraine", five MARS II multiple rocket launchers and 14 self-propelled howitzers 2000 (joint project with the Netherlands) from Germany are involved in the battles of the war on the Ukraine side , which are currently being struck mainly around Bakhmut in the Donbass.
In addition, due to a feared major Russian offensive at the beginning of 2023, the delivery of 18 RCH 155 heavy wheeled howitzers is currently being prepared or is already being carried out.
In the hope that none of this will fall into the hands of the Russians.
At the same time apparently captured Russian military equipment is being analyzed.
(pm)