One of Vladimir Putin’s more endearing features is that he never fails to remind us that he is evil. Not just a run-of-the-mill evil tyrant who enjoys his tyranny, but a dedicated practitioner of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
His latest proud achievement?
Killing at least 20 Kyivites, and wounding scores more, in an 11-hour barrage on July 1-2 intended to kill civilians and civilian targets.
Their crime? Resisting his war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide by retaining their Ukrainian identity.
Ukrainians are used to Putin’s savagery. They’ve experienced it for four and a half years. Most go about their daily lives in the fatalistic hope that the next barrage won’t strike their homes—or them. Many place their lives on the line by serving in the armed forces. What’s the alternative? Certainly not surrender, as that would be tantamount to suicide.
The rest of the world has no such excuse for looking the other way or pretending that Putin’s evil intentions stop at Ukraine’s western border.
Quite the contrary, Putin’s ambitions far exceed Ukraine, as his incessant invocations of the boundlessness of Russia and its divinely ordained civilizational mission demonstrate.
The comparison with Adolf Hitler bears repeating. Like the Nazi dictator, his Russian counterpart has grand imperial plans involving conquest and extermination. And, as University of Toronto historian Timothy Snyder has shown in his magisterial Bloodlands, Ukraine figured prominently in Hitler’s schemes for a new Europe.
As much as Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner may admire the Russian dictator, they need reminding that his hands are soaked in blood. As are theirs every time they shake his hand or pat him on the back.
Will “Putler,” as Ukrainians refer to Putin, agree to stop the war?
A simple tyrant could and would, after realizing that victory is impossible and defeat inevitable.
But Putin is no simple tyrant.
He, like Hitler, is a true believer in his invincibility and heavenly mandate. Whatever Witkoff, Kushner, and Donald Trump may believe about Putler’s willingness and desire for peace, the reality is that the only peace he can accept is that of the graveyard. Hitler was stopped only after Germany was defeated on the battlefield. So, too, Putin will be stopped only after Russia loses on the battlefield.
And, as the Kyiv bombing shows, now is the time for Ukraine to inflict a full-scale defeat on Russia.
As countless analysts have recently argued, the Russian economy is in serious trouble and will soon be unable to sustain the war. Over 1.3 million Russian soldiers have lost their lives or been seriously wounded, and more are being killed than recruited. The war has reached St. Petersburg and Moscow, and their residents are visibly unhappy. Russian officials and many Russian bloggers know the war is going badly, and they blame the “dwarf” in the Kremlin for the disaster.
In a word, Putin has become both a laughing stock and the target of derisory criticism. Talk of a possible coup is no longer fantastical. Unsurprisingly, Putin is flailing about in desperation. What else can he do but kill civilians?
Meanwhile, Ukraine is on the verge of isolating Crimea and thereby delivering a strategic blow to Russia and Putin. After all, Putin’s seizure of Crimea in February 2014 began the war amidst celebratory hoopla in Russia. “Crimea is ours,” Russians chanted. The lyrics may soon have to change to “Crimea is theirs.”
It’s clear now that Putin cannot win the war. But he can continue to kill Ukrainians and send thousands of Russians to their deaths. Europe appears to have understood that Ukraine can, with some accelerated help, win. In contrast, the Trump administration is dithering.
Which is too bad. Trump, who’s been battered by a series of recent embarrassments and defeats, desperately needs a big win. Bringing a genocidal maniac to justice could be just that.
About the Author: Dr. Alexander Motyl, Rutgers University
Dr. Alexander Motyl is a professor of political science at Rutgers-Newark. A specialist on Ukraine, Russia, and the USSR, and on nationalism, revolutions, empires, and theory, he is the author of 10 books of nonfiction, including Pidsumky imperii (2009); Puti imperii (2004); Imperial Ends: The Decay, Collapse, and Revival of Empires (2001); Revolutions, Nations, Empires: Conceptual Limits and Theoretical Possibilities (1999); Dilemmas of Independence: Ukraine after Totalitarianism (1993); and The Turn to the Right: The Ideological Origins and Development of Ukrainian Nationalism, 1919–1929 (1980); the editor of 15 volumes, including The Encyclopedia of Nationalism (2000) and The Holodomor Reader (2012); and a contributor of dozens of articles to academic and policy journals, newspaper op-ed pages, and magazines. He also has a weekly blog, “Ukraine’s Orange Blues.”
