These are radio
transmissions intercepted from Russian soldiers
in Ukraine. What you’re hearing are
real-time battlefield communications between
rank and file units on the front lines. They reveal a
Russian military, early on, already facing
major challenges to get air support and fuel, and even possibly
committing war crimes. It’s not clear why some
Russian military units are using unencrypted frequencies. But what it means is
that people with access to a radio receiver
can listen in and record their conversations
or interfere. We collected hundreds
of recordings like these, painstakingly captured
by ham radio operators and open source groups
across the world. We focused on radio intercepts
from the first 24 hours of the Russian assault
on Makariv, a small town along a
strategic highway about 30 miles west of Kyiv. These intercepts give a rare,
unvarnished window into the operations of
an invading army plagued by communication errors
and logistical problems. So how did we determine
these were Russian troops speaking? By linking these radio
exchanges with visual evidence and
eyewitness accounts. Listen, for example,
to this next transmission about a battle in a village
called Motyzhyn. Call sign Yug-95 reports his
unit pulled out of the battle and lost an armored
vehicle called an MT-LB. This aligns with a Telegram
post from the mayor of Makariv about an hour earlier, and with videos verified
by The Times showing Russians entering
Motyzhyn that afternoon. [shots fired] We also see Russian
armor littering the area the next day, including at least one MT-LB,
like Yug-95 reported. Motyzhyn is just one of many
specific battle locations around Makariv that we heard
Russian troops mention on the radio intercepts. We cross-checked
these with visuals we geolocated to
document sites and times of Russian military activity. [explosion] What we were able
to capture are mostly visual and audio fragments, not necessarily the
full sequence of events. But by piecing
them together, we can establish the dynamics
that were playing out on the ground during
the first attack on Makariv, which was a
bucolic and peaceful place until Feb. 27. That morning, locals spot
Russian military vehicles moving into the area. Within hours, we hear
Russian troops on the radio giving
battlefield updates. Over the course
of the assault, Russians openly disclose
attack plans for anyone to hear. Their language is often raw. Looking out of
their windows, residents see
firefights erupting. [explosion] In the following
radio transmission, we hear
repeated orders to strike an entire
residential area after it’s cleared of
so-called property, which is likely code
for Russian personnel or equipment. Visual evidence and
interviews show multiple instances where Russians
appeared to have openly fired on civilians around Makariv. The following security
camera footage shows a Russian armored
vehicle firing several rounds into this sedan without
any apparent warning or provocation. The passengers,
an elderly couple, were killed instantly. Videos and photos
show Russian forces did take significant losses. And at one point,
we hear a frantic dispatch from a unit under attack. There are even moments
when call sign Buran-30 sounds close to tears. Over the course of
the initial battle, the skies were rocked
with explosions. [explosion] In a series of
radio exchanges, we hear how
communication failures delay urgent requests
for air support amid mounting casualties. Thirty minutes later,
air support still hasn’t arrived. Video evidence suggests some
Russian units were not only attacked, but left stranded. The radio chatter
is full of troops who lack critical supplies. And Russian troops face
yet another menace, Ukrainian interlopers
mocking them on their open radio channels. Russian forces are now using
more code words and cellphones to communicate,
but signals are still compromised. The Times has found that
even many generals are using unsecured phones and radios,
which has led to at least one getting tracked and
killed by Ukrainians. [explosion] [dogs barking] Ukrainian officials claim they
have been pushing Russians out of the town of
Makariv for now. [shot fired] But fighting in
the area continues. So does the radio chatter.
