As the Ukrainian armed forces take back large swaths of the nation taken by invaders from Russia, the world is getting an even more graphic look at what the Russian aggressors have done to civilians caught in their initial advance.
We are seeing mass graves containing the remains of hundreds of Ukrainian civilians. Yes, women and children are included in the remains of what Ukrainian soldiers have found.
Ukrainians are collecting testimony from surviving civilians who are recounting tales of horror and torture at the hands of the soldiers who captured the territory.
It’s hard to predict how the Ukraine War will end. There might be a negotiated settlement, with Russian thug/goon/strongman Vladimir Putin seeking to save face. Although it seems difficult to imagine how Putin has any more “face” to save, given what we know about the war crimes his forces have committed on orders from the Kremlin.
That turns the discussion toward what Putin might do on the battlefield, given Ukraine’s energized counteroffensive. CBS News “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley is going to ask President Biden what he’ll do if Putin resorts to chemical weapons or tactical nukes. “Don’t. Don’t. Don’t,” Biden said, telling Pelley that such a move would “change the face of war.”
What does the president intend to do? Pelley asked. Biden responded by saying, “Do you think I’m going to tell you?”
We all are left to lament the horror of war as it is being revealed even more to us by the advancing forces seeking to reclaim the country they thought they lost to the invaders.
I have said already that Vladimir Putin has exposed himself to be a war criminal. As the Ukrainians continue their advance, the world needs to summon the courage to put Putin, a hideous tyrant, on trial for the crimes he has committed against humanity.
