Among the worst aspects of the way our species goes about its daily business on this planet are human rights abuses whenever and wherever they occur anywhere in the world. Even one case is too many but when they reach an industrial scale they become impossible to ignore.
Such is the reality now in Ukraine, where officials estimate at least 25,000 war crimes have already been committed by Russian troops. In a significant piece of reporting in a recent issue of The New Yorker, Masha Gessen documents a few of these stories in a matter-of-fact tone that underscores the wanton brutality of the crimes.
It appears that Ukrainian civilians not engaged in any kind of resistance are being systematically gunned down simply like target practice by Russian troops occupying their country.
Gessen illustrates how the difficulty of prosecuting these types of crimes means very few of these cases will ever result in the conviction of the responsible parties, though there will be at least some measure of justice here and there.
War is brutal. We know that. But the practice of purposely executing civilians seems to be a matter of official policy for Russia. And that is unacceptable.
The global community at large will have to come to grips with this slaughter. A few show trials in the future will not be enough. Somehow we have to make the architect of this particular war pay a high enough price that others will not dare to follow in Putin’s footsteps.
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