U.S. declares a potential 'war crime'.
As the death toll of Ukrainian civilians killed in Russia’s invasion of that country mounts, Russia has been accused of tactics that could be a war crime.Ukrainian officials and media say Russia has used what’s known as a thermobaric weapon, or a vacuum bomb, in its efforts to crush Ukrainian opposition.“They used the vacuum bomb today,” Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, told reporters on Monday, according to Politico.
The bomb -- which creates a super-high temperature blast by sucking up oxygen in the vicinity of the blast -- destroyed an army base in Okhtyrka, in the northwest part of Ukraine, Sumy regional administrative chief Dmytro Zhyvytskyy said on his Telegram channel.He said the explosion had killed 70 soldiers.
Okhtyrka Mayor Pavel Kuzmenko also described the weapon used in the attack as a vacuum bomb, Politico reported.
Russian vehicles capable of carrying such weapons have been spotted, according to some reports, but no official confirmation exists of the use of such a weapon.“We have seen the reports. If that were true, it would potentially be a war crime,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during her news briefing on Monday, referring to the use of a vacuum bomb in a civilian area.Marcus Hellyer, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the use of the bomb was to be expected, according to the U.K.'s Guardian.“One of the things we know about Russian tactics is that they are willing to destroy everything,” Hellyer said.
“It’s clear that the Ukrainians are hunkering down in some of the cities … as that continues the Russians are going to resort more and more to using … whatever weapons they have including thermobaric weapons in built-up urban areas,” he said.Russia’s tactics were denounced by Ihor Terekhov, mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, according to the Irish Times.
“Today, 37 people were wounded, including three children. Four people came out of a bomb shelter to get water and were killed. A family, two adults and three children, were burned alive in the car,” Terekhov said.“Today’s shelling of residential areas of Kharkiv showed this is not a military operation but a war to destroy the Ukrainian people,” he said.In a tweet on Tuesday that included video of the explosion, Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, “Barbaric Russian missile strikes on the central Freedom Square and residential districts of Kharkiv."He said Russian President Vladimir Putin "is unable to break Ukraine down. He commits more war crimes out of fury, murders innocent civilians."
Ukraine’s emergency services agency said in a Facebook post that the explosion damaged an apartment block as well as Kharkiv's opera house and philharmonic theater, according to The New York Times.“There will come a time, when all war criminals, all insane dictators, will have to appear in court,” the agency said in its post, according to the Times. “And at that time, Satan will curse you for each drop of blood of Ukrainian citizens that you spilled. Burn in hell for eternity.”
Amnesty International said international humanitarian law prohibits the use of cluster bombs and similar weapons, according to Reuters, noting that indiscriminate attacks targeting civilians are a war crime.The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Monday he wants to probe possible war crimes taking place during the invasion, according to ABC News.Prosecutor Karim Khan said that “given the expansion of the conflict in recent days, it is my intention that this investigation will also encompass any new alleged crimes falling within the jurisdiction of my office that are committed by any party to the conflict on any part of the territory of Ukraine.”
Courtesy of Western Journal.
There are so many complex reasons for Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine. And so many outcomes yet to be determined – sadly, all of them bad for the USA.
The lesson we have to learn here is "peace comes through strength." Only by being tougher than the other guy can you avoid conflict.That perfectly describes former President Donald J. Trump. I can picture Trump telling Putin, "If you attack Ukraine, we will bomb Russia to oblivion. Don't try me." And Putin never did. Putin behaved while Trump was president.But Putin knows Biden is a feeble old man with dementia. Putin knows he can walk all over him. That's first and foremost what this is all about: intimidation.Putin is a bully. He will try to get away with as much as he can while flexing his muscles and humiliating Biden. Putin wants to show the world that Russia is the world power now. And America is a paper tiger.Putin wants to show the world he is the big man on campus, with the big stick.
And of course, Putin also wants to pillage the abundant natural resources of Ukraine – especially the oil and gas reserves. After all, it's always about the Benjamins.But there's also a shocking bonus to all of this that no one else is talking about.I believe Putin is sick and tired of hearing Biden and America's politicians lecture him about "Russia's corruption." Putin knows Biden is filthy and dirty. Putin knows the Biden crime family has taken kickbacks and payoffs all over the world. He knows Biden is "the Big Guy" who expects a piece of every deal. Biden lecturing others about corruption is like the Mafia lecturing about extortion.Putin knows the center of Biden's corruption was in Ukraine. Biden and his family intimidated, extorted and assaulted Ukraine. A little birdie tells me this is the big bonus for Putin after he invades and conquers Ukraine. He will capture and torture everyone involved in shady deals with Biden in order to unearth the secrets of Biden's filthy corruption.
Then Putin has two juicy options. Behind door No. 1: Expose Biden's massive crime wave in Ukraine, shock the world, make Biden step down, embarrass and demoralize the United States and paralyze America's government. This makes Russia the new big, bad sheriff in town.Behind door No. 2: Putin can blackmail Biden and hold his secrets over his head in order to get whatever Putin wants. Suddenly Biden is Putin's flunky: the same relationship China already has with Biden. China has the goods on Biden. They clearly own Biden lock, stock and barrel. Now it's Putin's turn.Lastly, one more bad thing that will almost certainly come out of this. Just like my high school days, when bullies sense weakness, they immediately attack. China is watching closely. If Putin takes Ukraine, outplays and humiliates Biden, China will absolutely invade Taiwan.We are watching history unfold. Tragically, all of it is bad for America. Don't you wish Trump were back in the White House? Unfortunately, tragically, this is proof that rigged elections produce bad consequences.
