Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy walked through the streets of liberated Bucha and looked at what was left of the small suburb. His eyes reflected the horrors he saw – bodies of men, women, and children who had been shot to death, skeletons of burned-out buildings, basements where families were seeking cover from shelling. Satellite images published in the New York Times left no room for doubt – the bodies were seen in the streets of Bucha when it was under Russian occupation, and when the troops retreated, they left behind scorched earth and heavy civilian casualties.
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The terrible sights from Bucha come along with reports of mass rapes (there is no precise information about all the victims because some of them have not come forward, but it is clear that there have been thousands), torture, and looting. All these fall into the category of war crimes. Those who perpetrate them are criminally responsible, and can be tried.
The sights in Bucha and other Ukrainian cities like Irpin, Berdyansk or Mariupol shouldn't surprise anyone. The Russians have never fought with kid gloves – cities in Chechnya, villages in Georgia and entire residential neighborhoods in Syria have been razed entirely, leaving nothing behind. The only exception was the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, mostly because Ukraine was taken by surprise and barely resisted the move. As soon as a maternity hospital in Mariupol was bombed and shelling on Kharkiv claimed the life of Buchenwald survivor Boris Romantschenko, 96, it was clear that the war on Ukraine in March 2022 would be nothing like the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Still, one cannot be anything but horrified at the stories of women being raped in the streets of Ukraine and the images of bound bodies lying at the sides of roads in ruined cities.
The question is what the world can offer the Ukrainians other than horror, "tsk-tsking," and sighs of "how awful." Everyone knew that a war was being fought in Ukraine and the Russians were shooting indiscriminately and crimes like these were highly likely. The West opted not to defend Ukraine in order to avoid war with Russia, a nuclear power that constantly reminds the world of that status. After the images from Bucha were published, the US announced more sanctions against Russia, which now cannot pay its debts from the foreign currency reserves it was keeping for a rainy day. Spain has confiscated another oligarch's yacht, and in Israel, Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman said, "Ukraine is accusing Russia and Russia is accusing Ukraine of committing war crimes." The Ukrainians will get a little more weapons and a little more money.
But condemnations, mild or harsh, or even the harshest sanctions won't bring back the people who have been murdered, and won't stop the slaughter in Ukraine. US President Joe Biden can call Putin a war criminal 1,000 times, but it won't stop the fighting or bring the president of Russia any closer to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Leading up to May 9, the anniversary of the victory over Germany in 1945, Russia can be expected to step up its offensive against Ukraine. The next city in line could be Kharkiv, the second-largest in the country. Meanwhile, Putin is determined to continue ceasefire negotiations. As far as he is concerned, these are two parallel lines that will never meet. The Ukrainians are continuing talks, as well, so they can't be accused of refusing peace. However, everyone knows that the war goes on, and Ukraine is still being cut up. The West knows it will have to pay a very heavy price to stop Putin – a third world war, possibly a nuclear one. It appears that at the moment, with all the sympathy and support for Ukraine, that is a price no one is willing to pay.
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