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Can Limit Their Effectiveness in Ukraine

At the recent Munich Security Conference in Germany Vice President Kamala Harris spoke forcefully and with conviction about crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine by Russian invaders, and the planners, directors and facilitators of their actions. Harris said in part:

"In the case of Russia's actions in Ukraine, we have examined the evidence. We know the legal standards and there is no doubt these are crimes against humanity … Let us be clear, Russian forces have pursued a widespread and systemic attack against a civilian population … Gruesome acts of murder, torture, rape, and deportation. Execution-style killings, beatings, and electrocution. Russian authorities have forcibly deported hundreds of thousands of people from Ukraine to Russia — including children."

There is no humanitarian relief organization in the Western World that would disagree. Perhaps the most cucial thing Harris said was,

"And I say to all those who have perpetrated these crimes, and to their superiors who are complicit in these crimes, you will be held to account."

What Is to Be Done?

Early in the invasion US President Biden’s stated objectives were to avoid World War III and not do anything to escalate the conflict. Not much to fear there if you are Vladimir Putin or his war planners.

In fact from the Biden Administration’s point of view there wasn’t even supposed to be a war. Their plan was to provide safe exit from Ukraine for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy his cabinet members and their families. Thus conceding the war before it began.

One minor problem, they forgot to ask Zelenskyy and the Ukrainians. When they did finally ask, Zelenskyy famously replied, “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride.” That’s why there is a war today and for the record it is a war the US and NATO surely did not, and do not want to participate in still.

The US and its NATO partners all say they support the Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion and they categorically condemn the crimes against humanity it has spawned. They all tout the list of weapons they have supplied to bolster Ukraine’s struggle to turn back the invaders.

However an objective military analysis would have to conclude that the weapons provided so far are better suited to produce a stalemate on the battlefield than an expulsion of Russian forces from Ukrainian lands and the communities in which the atrocities are being committed.

An argument for avoiding war can and arguably should always be made. The danger of course is that fear of war always seems to invite greater military aggression. A grinding, bloody slugfest in the center of Europe may seem to those at what seems to be a safe distance like a better alternative than a direct military engagement, but a war that does not end inevitably grows and does ever greater harm.

It’s great that the US wants to hold war criminals to account. How they would do that is unclear as the US refuses to recognize any international court. Presumably such a court would have to agree to prosecute only American adversaries.

In any case it isn’t very likely Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin or his close supporters will go before the Hague. However should the Russian Army be driven from Ukraine that could quite conceivably lead to the downfall of the Putin regime. It is what an accounting for these war crimes will most likely ultimately look like.

Neither the US nor its NATO allies are yet ready to commit to winning the war. Nothing else will do.

Marc Ash is the founder and former Executive Director of Truthout, and is now founder and Editor of Reader Supported News.

Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.