Germany has identified the Russians suspected of targeting civilians in the village of Hostomel, including a German citizen, during Berlin's first investigation into war crimes in Ukraine.

According to Spiegel, Marco Buschmann, Germany’s Federal Minister of Justice, in an interview with DPA news agency said the individuals suspected of the bombardments and the officers responsible had been identified.

"If we catch the perpetrators, we will press charges. And if Ukraine or another country we cooperate with catches these people, we will provide evidence so that charges can be successfully pursued," Buschmann said.

Ahead of the opening of this particular investigation, the German Federal Prosecutor's Office had launched what it called a structural investigation into suspected war crimes during Russia's aggression against Ukraine in March 2022.

The idea is to initially gather evidence without identifying specific defendants, for example, by interviewing witnesses seeking asylum in Germany. A similar approach has been taken in relation to war crimes in Syria, where several convictions have been passed.

The German authorities have issued calls in Ukrainian, Russian and English to persuade people to share their experiences with the police.

On 19 December, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court confirmed that it had received an appeal from former Russian intelligence colonel Igor Salikov, who fled to the Netherlands and declared his readiness to testify about Russian war crimes.

Earlier, reports emerged that a former Russian intelligence colonel, Igor Salikov, 60, had travelled to the Netherlands and expressed his desire to testify before the International Criminal Court.

Salikov claimed to have served 25 years, first in the Russian army and then in the Wagner Private Military Company, on whose side he fought in Syria and several African countries. He was also involved in Russia's aggression against Ukraine, first in 2014 and later in 2022.

The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office later said that they had been investigating the information received from Salikov for more than six months.