With all this evidence against Russia, why are they not charged by the UN with war crimes against humanity. That they are a permanent member of the Security Council is beside the point. That they would Veto any resolution does not matter if the other 14 members voted for it. Time to make a stand against Putin, who, like Hitler, has poisoned the reputation of Russia as a centre of human achievement in culture and arts.
Because the UN is a spent force - look at which countries are currently chairing key committee, and the nonsense of the Taliban being able to refuse having any women participate in a UN event they held.
I fear another winter of devastating attacks unless and until NATO countries allow the armaments they provide to be used against forces in Russia irrespective of whether they are just about to fire…
It’s encouraging to learn Russia’s targeting of civilians does not appear to be working vis-à-vis the Ukrainian population’s support for the war.
On a separate but linked note I would be curious to know what Lawrence’s views are on the sustainability of Russian casualties being reported in the media i.e. 70,000 in two months.
Mike Kofman has reported Russia is adding around 30,000 new recruits each month making the 70,000 more or less sustainable in the short term. Presumably though it can’t do this forever, not least because of the chronic labour shortages in Russia?
Do you have a view on the timing of these strikes? It seemed to me that it was not a coincidence that they occurred during Modi’s state visit to Moscow. I don’t quite understand it, but Putin seems to have a mindset of “blooding” his tentative allies to make it impossible to equivocate. They take extensive public criticism and are forced to then take a clear for/against stance vis Russia. Modi cut short his visit but also took a lot of criticism- in the longer run India will find it harder to sit on the fence. This seemed to be a strategic objective of Putin.
I doubt it was a coincidence that the strike occurred on the eve of the NATO 75th anniversary summit, where aid to Ukraine was a centerpiece. What better way for Putin to say to the West, "Your support for Ukraine is futile, and your international order means nothing. You can't stop me." This is all the more reason for arming Ukraine for victory and untying its hands. Show Putin he is wrong in the only way he understands.
I think it interesting that Modi left earlier than planned, and after issuing some rather Ghandi’an comments.
I suspect that the hospital bombing also worked against Orban’s initiative to try to become a lynchpin, if only because it demonstrated that Putin’s Russia can never be trustees.
I agree, I’m the term term it looks counterproductive, but once the dust (literally and figuratively) settles, the court of public opinion views Modi and Orban as closer to Putin’s orbit than before this atrocity. This increases the hurdles for either of them to equivocate in future and forces both of them to either make strenuous efforts to disown Russia (and look personally weak in the process) or decide that they are now “in” the Russia camp whether they like/want or intended to be. This seems a Putin reflexive control thing.
If the purpose of the bombing is to emulate Chechnya and Syria, it needs to factor in the very different conditions. Ukraine is much larger. Ukraine is a State which is not isolated and has sustainability in political terms. It has material support whose sources can’t be bombed. The allied strategic bombing campaign in WW2 was unable to achieve victory in its own right. This was of a very significant order of magnitude (size and destructive effect) greater than the Russian campaign. Therefore it is interesting to think about why they bother. Particularly because its failure to achieve decisive results supports the use of nuclear weapons from that not insignificant section of Russian society that openly and increasingly demands first use - despite the irresponsible and naive reasoning used to hold this position. As it happens the Russian president does not form part of that belief group but the pressure to make some use of the massive investment grows as the current conventional campaign produces limited results.
With all this evidence against Russia, why are they not charged by the UN with war crimes against humanity. That they are a permanent member of the Security Council is beside the point. That they would Veto any resolution does not matter if the other 14 members voted for it. Time to make a stand against Putin, who, like Hitler, has poisoned the reputation of Russia as a centre of human achievement in culture and arts.
Because the UN is a spent force - look at which countries are currently chairing key committee, and the nonsense of the Taliban being able to refuse having any women participate in a UN event they held.
I find it hard to like anything about Russia these days. A truly barbaric regime . Excellent read and unsurprising .
Yes, and the heavier bombardment of Gazza is likely to be, as unsuccessful, with even more casualties and deaths.
I fear another winter of devastating attacks unless and until NATO countries allow the armaments they provide to be used against forces in Russia irrespective of whether they are just about to fire…
It’s encouraging to learn Russia’s targeting of civilians does not appear to be working vis-à-vis the Ukrainian population’s support for the war.
On a separate but linked note I would be curious to know what Lawrence’s views are on the sustainability of Russian casualties being reported in the media i.e. 70,000 in two months.
Mike Kofman has reported Russia is adding around 30,000 new recruits each month making the 70,000 more or less sustainable in the short term. Presumably though it can’t do this forever, not least because of the chronic labour shortages in Russia?
Do you have a view on the timing of these strikes? It seemed to me that it was not a coincidence that they occurred during Modi’s state visit to Moscow. I don’t quite understand it, but Putin seems to have a mindset of “blooding” his tentative allies to make it impossible to equivocate. They take extensive public criticism and are forced to then take a clear for/against stance vis Russia. Modi cut short his visit but also took a lot of criticism- in the longer run India will find it harder to sit on the fence. This seemed to be a strategic objective of Putin.
I doubt it was a coincidence that the strike occurred on the eve of the NATO 75th anniversary summit, where aid to Ukraine was a centerpiece. What better way for Putin to say to the West, "Your support for Ukraine is futile, and your international order means nothing. You can't stop me." This is all the more reason for arming Ukraine for victory and untying its hands. Show Putin he is wrong in the only way he understands.
Very plausible and perhaps more likely - either way, there is method and motive behind the timing I think.
Yes definitely--multifactorial.
I think it interesting that Modi left earlier than planned, and after issuing some rather Ghandi’an comments.
I suspect that the hospital bombing also worked against Orban’s initiative to try to become a lynchpin, if only because it demonstrated that Putin’s Russia can never be trustees.
I agree, I’m the term term it looks counterproductive, but once the dust (literally and figuratively) settles, the court of public opinion views Modi and Orban as closer to Putin’s orbit than before this atrocity. This increases the hurdles for either of them to equivocate in future and forces both of them to either make strenuous efforts to disown Russia (and look personally weak in the process) or decide that they are now “in” the Russia camp whether they like/want or intended to be. This seems a Putin reflexive control thing.
If the purpose of the bombing is to emulate Chechnya and Syria, it needs to factor in the very different conditions. Ukraine is much larger. Ukraine is a State which is not isolated and has sustainability in political terms. It has material support whose sources can’t be bombed. The allied strategic bombing campaign in WW2 was unable to achieve victory in its own right. This was of a very significant order of magnitude (size and destructive effect) greater than the Russian campaign. Therefore it is interesting to think about why they bother. Particularly because its failure to achieve decisive results supports the use of nuclear weapons from that not insignificant section of Russian society that openly and increasingly demands first use - despite the irresponsible and naive reasoning used to hold this position. As it happens the Russian president does not form part of that belief group but the pressure to make some use of the massive investment grows as the current conventional campaign produces limited results.