Bucha’s Atrocities Are Not Russia’s First. They Must Be the Last
Retreating soldiers are leaving behind evidence of brutal civilian killings. Absent further action to make this war too costly for the Kremlin, this will not be a one-off.
There is evidence of mass graves near the capital, Kyiv.
Photographer: Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images
It’s hard to read the reports emerging from Bucha and other Kyiv suburbs, and nearly impossible to look at the images. Retreating Russian soldiers have left evidence of unthinkable brutality. Ordinary men and women lie dead on the street, in the dark mud and dirt, many shot, some with hands tied behind their back. People were found still clutching shopping bags, one splayed next to a tangled bicycle. There are mass graves, and there’s evidence of torture. Ukrainian authorities say the bodies of 410 civilians have been recovered from towns around the capital.
Even without knowing precisely what happened, it’s clear that Bucha and incidents like it are an outrage: war crimes of hideous proportions. But this should not come as a shock. Russian forces have used just such tactics before, and will do so again — unless Europe, the U.S. and other allied nations move swiftly on the back of this horror. They need to make the cost of this war not just steep for Russia, whose economy has begun to stabilize since massive sanctions were first imposed, but intolerable. And yes, that means advancing beyond efforts to close loopholes for banks and technology, and tackling, at last, Russian oil and gas exports.