There is no question in my mind that Russia has committed and continues to commit war crimes through Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. From the dead bodies strewn in the streets of Bucha and other areas around Kyiv early in the invasion, to the piles of rubble and miles of graves that are all we have left of Mariupol and the people who lived there, to the tortured citizens of recently liberated Kherson, Russia and their mercenary armies have left a trail of agony, rape, and death that is clearly designed to terrorize the Ukrainian people.

It is past time for the U.S. State Department to formally add Russia to our list of official State Sponsors of Terrorism, as discussed in the video below.
 

Merciless terror against civilians in #Ukraine continues unabated. It's past time to declare the Russian Federation a state sponsor of terror. #RussiaIsATerroristState pic.twitter.com/o2kVsxTnOk

— Jessica Berlin (@berlin_bridge) January 15, 2023

That video also lays out at least some of the difficulties of following this path. But it is clear Russia doesn’t intend to stop targeting civilian infrastructure and murdering civilians with bombs. These are war crimes, full stop.
 

Search and rescue operation in Dnipro has been completed:
– 39 people were rescued, including 6 children;
– 44 people died, including 5 children;
– 79 people were injured, including 16 children;
– 47 reported as missing (23 found dead, 4 found alive). pic.twitter.com/hUUmOiuB23

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) January 17, 2023

Putin does not just intend to murder Ukrainians, he has every intention of destroying their culture and their ability to exist as an independent people. (Gift link should get through the paywall for a while.)

As Russians Steal Ukraine’s Art, They Attack Its Identity, Too

Russian forces have looted tens of thousands of pieces, including avant-garde oil paintings and Scythian gold. Experts say it is the biggest art heist since the Nazis in World War II, intended to strip Ukraine of its cultural heritage.

Putin continues to advance his “one people” justification for this attempt to subjugate the Ukrainian people. He has no right to do so, while Ukraine has every right to self-defense. It is imperative that the U.S. and our western allies use every tool at our disposal to resist Putin’s ugly plans.

Adam Silverman over at Balloon Juice continues his daily updates of each day’s battles. His reports are worth keeping up with.