Exclusive
Status: 09/28/2022 5:00 p.m
The BND supports Ukraine with intelligence information that can be used militarily, including satellite images of Russian military locations in Ukraine. Legally, Germany did not enter the war.
The German government is supporting Ukraine much more intensively during the war than previously known. Since spring, the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) has been providing Ukraine with useful information about the Russian military in Ukraine – this is the result of joint research by the ARD-political magazine contrasts with the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit”.
The information that the BND, with the approval of the federal government, is sending to the Ukrainian secret service includes analyses, for example on the combat effectiveness and morale of Russian units in Ukraine, intercepted radio and mobile phone calls and satellite images. These BND reports can help Ukraine prepare for military operations.
Well over 100 BND reports to Ukraine since May
According to research by contrasts and “Zeit” the BND is said to have sent far more than 100 text reports and satellite images to its Ukrainian partner service since May. The reports included intercepted information, so-called SIGINT data, on Russian ammunition depots in occupied areas in Ukraine or satellite images of an airfield with the exact location and number of Russian aircraft.
The satellite images, so-called IMINT data, come from the SAR Lupe system of the German Armed Forces, which they actually operate together with the BND. The system consists of small satellites that can create high-resolution images regardless of the time of day or the weather, even in dense cloud cover.
Data delivery permitted according to BND assessment
At first the BND had the “Legal Permissibility of Transmission of Targetable Information to Ukraine” get checked. In an assessment in May, the intelligence service came to the conclusion that the disclosure of the reports was legally covered and that, under international law, Germany did not enter the war.
According to Berlin, the data would be passed on with a delay of up to a few days. That is why the data cannot be used “immediately” for planning and controlling deadly attacks. In addition, the BND only transmits image sections of Ukrainian territory.
The data is apparently transmitted in coordination between the federal government and the allies, above all the USA. Other NATO countries, such as Great Britain and the USA, are also said to be supplying corresponding intelligence information to Ukraine.
The German government assumes that Russia is aware
The federal government should after “Zeit” – and contrasts-Information also assume that Russia is aware of the BND data deliveries. In general, the federal government does not want to comment on the process. A government spokeswoman said at the request of the two media that the federal government “as a matter of principle does not take a public position on matters that concern any intelligence findings or activities of the intelligence services”.