Yes, this is a rant; Seeing reports of Kyiv being bombed with over 120 missiles this morning...and wondering IF we manage to avoid WWIII this time, what effect all of this will have on the future and it isn't good.
At least whatever attacks NATO is doing in Russia, are not on civilian targets, unlike Putin who has made absolutely no effort to avoid civilian casualties and has violated international humanitarian law.
The rules of war, also known as international humanitarian law:
Protect those who are not fighting, such as civilians, medical personnel or aid workers.
Protect those who are no longer able to fight, like an injured soldier or a prisoner.
Prohibit targeting civilians. Failing to do so, is a war crime.
Recognize the right of civilians to be protected from the dangers of war and receive the help they need. Every possible care must be taken to avoid harming them or their houses, or destroying their means of survival, such as water sources, crops, livestock, etc.
Mandate that the sick and wounded have a right to be cared for, regardless of whose side they are on.
Specify that medical workers, medical vehicles and hospitals dedicated to humanitarian work can not be attacked.
Prohibit torture and degrading treatment of prisoners.
Specify that detainees must receive food and water and be allowed to communicate with their loved ones.
Limit the weapons and tactics that can be used in war, to avoid unnecessary suffering.
Explicitly forbid rape or other forms of sexual violence in the context of armed conflict.
The rules in bold type are those that Putin and the Russian forces have obviously broken, though I have seen supposed testimony that all of the others also, have been disregarded.
I don’t care how annoyed Putin has been with the west or how “provoked” he has been. His approach in this war shows a complete disregard for international laws and for the agreed upon rules of warfare. When 90% of your missiles are hitting civilian homes and infrastructure, this is intentional.
So what? Why is any of this important?
Because, atrocities of the past, cause conflicts of the future.
The Ukrainians, Poles, Romanians, Estonians, Latvians, Hungarians and Lithuanian people have memories from 30 years ago of how Russia treated civilians.
Almost every family has a story of a family member or themselves who were wrongly imprisoned or killed. Civilians were oppressed, executed, starved, imprisoned, tortured and targeted.
This natural mistrust was multiplied with Putin's taking of Crimea in 2014.
It in every way, the disregard for the treatment of civilians/citizenry in past disagreements and conflicts, has led to this day, and here they are doing it again. STUPID, STUPID, STUPID.
They have done NOTHING to prove to a new generation that they have changed the mistakes of the past. Instead, they doubled down and then wondered why, when they had troops lined up on the border, no one would trust them when they said they were not going into Ukraine?
Their behavior in warfare NOW, even if we are somehow able to avoid a WWIII this time, will lead to a continuation of distrust and future conflicts. Eventually it WILL lead to a world war, probably of the nuclear variety.
So yes, how Russia conducts themselves is of concern to me, and should be for everyone because it sets the stage for the future conflicts, should we somehow avoid WWIII this time, that our children and grandchildren will have to face.
I just hope that NATO and Ukraine do not follow tit for tat.