Russia invades Ukraine, Mariupol strikes continue
Never again, the phrase often uttered after crimes against humanity, in practice, almost never means never again.
Sickening scenes of mass graves and murdered civilians in Ukraine this weekend, revealed by the pullback of Russian troops from Kyiv, are jolting the world back to some of humanity’s cruelest outrages.
Perhaps there’s a slim chance that such horrific footage will come to be emblematic of a turning point in the war by catalyzing more robust Western action and a new diplomatic commitment that could turn the tide of the conflict further against Russia.
But the only conceivable way that Ukrainian civilians could be made safe is if Western forces intervene in the conflict or Russian President Vladimir Putin suddenly calls off his onslaught.
Neither is likely to happen — not least because the West has imposed limits on its own action to avoid a direct conflict with nuclear-armed Moscow. And the Russian leader has always seen the lives of civilians in his way as cheap.
Still, the evidence of atrocities underscores a tragic realization that such evil is not simply the historic legacy of long-past wars.
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