When will Trump hold Putin accountable for war crimes in Ukraine? | Opinion
Russia’s war in Ukraine is defined by its intentional crimes against humanity; its intentional targeting of civilians. The torture is both physical and mental. Putin is murdering the defenseless civilian population as they sleep in their homes, ride bikes to buy groceries, work in the fields to harvest their crops and sit on a bus on their way to work. Putin is also abducting the most vulnerable of Ukraine’s population, innocent children.
The UN’s official civilian casualty count is about 13,000. The UN admits the toll is much higher. To get an official number is impossible because two methods of corroboration are necessary. The occupied areas are closed off to visitors so numbers cannot be verified. Only when areas are liberated by Ukrainians do we see Russia’s horrific war crimes as in Bucha. In Mariupol an estimated 25,000-75,000 civilians were killed in 2022. Mariupol is under occupation and independent verification is not allowed. That is why the published number of children abducted, 19,546, is not an accurate number. This number refers to children abducted by Russia whose parents have escaped occupation and verified who their children were. They are the children whose names we know.
The number of abducted children is much higher. Since the initial invasion in 2014 Russia has been abducting children from areas it occupies. Many of them are children of murdered parents. Russia says the number is over 100,000. Russia has rehabilitation camps for these children for changing their identities. Some children have managed to escape and we have their stories.
An initial investigation by Yale’s Human Rights Lab discovered Russian government websites cataloging these abducted children. The catalogues advertise each child and offer them for “sale.” The catalogues gave you the ability to filter your choice by eye color, hair color, age and health. Personality traits are also described. This is Child Trafficking by Vladimir Putin. No matter where you stand in your support of Ukraine this trafficking of innocent children transcends all political allegiances.
Among other evil attributes, Putin is a child trafficker.
President Trump, from what moral ground are you running American foreign policy? We cannot be a country of hypocrites. Do we stand up to bullies or bow to them? Do we support governments that traffic children? You want the killing to stop, but in areas occupied by Russia, torture, murder and child abduction will not stop.
The International Criminal Court has an arrest warrant out for Vladimir Putin for his war crimes in Ukraine and for the unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. Thirty-eight countries have condemned these catalogues of children for sale and have called for their return through an international organization called, Bring Children Back UA.
The following is a statement from the American Coalition for Ukraine:
The United States holds unmatched leverage. President Trump has the rare opportunity to achieve what no leader has yet accomplished: to finally hold Putin accountable and shape an outcome that ends Europe’s bloodiest war in generations-without risking a single American soldier. By wielding sanctions, tariffs, and sustained support for Ukraine’s defense as instruments of peace, he can secure a legacy as the statesman who delivered lasting security for America, freedom for Ukraine, and stability for the world.
If President Trump does not use the leverage that he has, he will be used by Putin to force the capitulation of Ukraine thus the further destruction of human lives. Putin cannot take over Ukraine on his own; not with North Korean soldiers, Chinese ammunition and Iran’s drones. Putin can only take over with Trump’s assistance, Trump’s complacency toward democracy. Does complacency make you a party to Putin’s state sponsored trafficking of children? Do smiles, handshakes and clapping for a mass murderer, child trafficker bring about peace? Where is the outrage? Is this where America is headed?
Nina Woskob, a resident of State College since 1983, is a daughter of Ukrainian WWll immigrants. She and her husband, George, own GN Associates, a local real estate development and management company.