Photo/Illutration Mariana Vishegirskaya walks downstairs in a maternity hospital damaged by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 9. She later delivered a baby girl in another hospital. (AP Photo)

The Kremlin denotes the seat of the Russian government. But originally as a common noun, the word meant the citadel of a Russian city.

I do not know what is going on in the inner sanctum of the Kremlin in Moscow, except that its veil of secrecy appears to be getting thicker than ever.

An independent Russian media outlet has reported that senior officials at the foreign intelligence branch of the Federal Security Service (FSB) have been placed under house arrest.

The officials were responsible for keeping President Vladimir Putin informed on the Ukraine situation. Their fall from grace is said to owe to their flawed intelligence.

If the report is true, Putin may have taken his frustration out on his spy chiefs, embittered that his invasion of Ukraine is not going as planned.

It has become noticeable over the last two weeks or so that Russian forces are struggling hard against the fierce resistance put up by Ukrainian troops. Perhaps the Russians are in the process of adjusting their military deployments and strategies.

However, history teaches that such a review often leads to an even more brutal onslaught.

When U.S. forces started bombing Japan’s mainland during the Pacific War, the initial targets were mostly limited to military installations.

After it was pointed out that this strategy was not effective, the U.S. military recalled its Japan commander and switched to indiscriminate bombing of population centers.

Incendiary bombs, spewing jellied gasoline, rained on Japanese cities of all sizes.

The new commander, Maj. Gen. Curtis LeMay of the then U.S. Army Air Forces, apparently knew the campaign was against international law, but stayed the course.

He reportedly told his subordinate after the firebombing, “If we had lost the war, we would all have been prosecuted as war criminals.”

Russian forces have already shelled a maternity hospital, kindergarten and housing complex in Ukraine.

This inhumane war goes on in violation of international law. How can it be stopped?

--The Asahi Shimbun, March 15

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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