Photo/Illutration Ol'ga Kosyanchuk, 63, right, stands next to the coffin of her husband Anatoliy, 56, who was captured by Russian soldiers on March 29, and found dead with severe head injuries in Bucha, in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 15. (AP Photo)

The horrors of the war in Ukraine, some of which are beyond description, have slowly begun to emerge. Details of brutal slayings underscore the urgency of a swift evacuation of citizens trapped in the fighting.

Russia is reportedly massing troops and pouring armaments into eastern Ukraine for an apparent large-scale offensive. Fatalities in the southeastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, razed to rubble during weeks of fierce fighting, number around 20,000. More than 100,000 people are believed to be stranded there.

Russian forces have bombed civilian targets in the city, including a theater used as an air raid shelter and a maternity hospital. Moscow appears to be intent on staging indiscriminate attacks in its rush to seize the city, adding to the toll of civilian casualties.

France, Turkey and Greece are working together to find ways to evacuate citizens from the besieged city. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has offered to help evacuate citizens and supply relief materials to Mariupol residents. But the Russian government has refused to accept these humanitarian efforts.

To not even allow humanitarian aid operations by a neutral international organization trying to help civilians caught up in the war is nothing short of inhumane. It is hardly surprising that President Vladimir Putin’s government fears the international community’s suspicions of war crimes committed by Russian troops will come to light.

But it is impossible for Russia to conceal the atrocious violations committed by its military. In areas around the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv from which the Russian forces have withdrawn, local residents have provided shocking accounts about brutalities committed by the invaders, which have been reported by the international media, including The Asahi Shimbun.

There is no doubt that executions, torture, acts of rape and looting, and other forms of violence were committed while these areas were under Russian siege. Some local residents reported that citizens with Ukrainian backgrounds were targeted for violence while those with links to Russia were often spared.

Similar reports of Russian atrocities have also come from eastern and other parts of Ukraine. A new Russian offensive is likely to trigger another wave of violence against innocent and helpless citizens in areas occupied by the Russian military. The situation is particularly urgent.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appealed for an immediate “humanitarian ceasefire” in Ukraine but expressed pessimism about the prospects of that happening. We hope that France and Turkey, which have a channel of dialogue with the Russian leadership, will be able to persuade Moscow to allow residents in combat areas to be evacuated.

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has been conducting a formal inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in areas near Kyiv. Hopefully, detailed facts about what has occurred and who issued orders for the acts will be disclosed through a fair and exhaustive investigation. The findings will be important for restraining the Russian military from perpetrating more atrocities in the coming weeks.

Speaking about his country’s invasion of Ukraine at a news conference this week, Putin claimed that Moscow “had no other choice” in its efforts to “ensure Russia’s own security.” He tried to shift the blame for the war to “nationalists and Neo-Nazis” in Ukraine.

Putin’s outrageous self-justification reflects the self-righteousness of Russia, a major military power that apparently looks down on Ukraine as a subject nation.

While it is not clear exactly what orders Putin has given to the military, it is obvious that his views and thoughts have influenced the brutal acts of the Russian forces.

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 16

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