Putin's World War Three is genocide

Echo opinion published in the National Post, a Canadian newspaper:

Is It Time to Call Putin’s War in Ukraine Genocide?

The world has never before been confronted by a genocidal war waged by a man brandishing nuclear weapons.

Russia's brutal and unprovoked attack on the Ukraine is the greatest crisis since the Second World War, and the world must meet it with skill and a commitment to resist the threat- because the all of Europe's security is at risk of being assaulted..

Now that Russia has launched its genocidal attack, the world needs to do three things. First, we must recognize publicly and internationally that every Ukrainian killed, whether fighting to defend Ukraine or a passive citizen, is a victim of murder. Russia must be identified as a terrorist state supporting mass murder.

As I am a Canadian prosecutor, I can confirm that the provisions of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, which Canada enacted in 2000, apply to the actions of the Russian president and to the Russian and Belarusian states and armies. Calling it a “war” suggests a kind of equivalency between two parties. It is not a war. It is a state-sponsored attack intended as a genocide and must be identified as such. It is a crime against humanity. Canada must publicly and repeatedly state its intention to launch proceedings here and before the World Court to identify Russia and all its state actors (including military personnel as well as Belarus) as international criminals. This will allow the seizure of substantial Russian assets in the West to pay reparations to Ukraine if and when Ukraine is ever in a position to rejoin the international community as a free state.

Secondly, the law of “conspiracy” and “parties” applies to the Russian embassy staff, who ruthlessly assisted Russia by disseminating false information. 

Russians who have collaborated with the Kremlin must be expelled from Canada. To allow Russian staff to remain in Canada after they have been complicit in crimes against humanity would be unconscionable. 

Moreover, I also hope and expect that the Canadian broadcaster, the CBC, is aware that giving voice to any statements from Russian agents in Canada is, in effect, to assist a criminal organization. We do not need to hear the CBC repeating more lies from Russian embassies.

Thirdly, we need to prepare to receive refugees from this Russian attack. People are fleeing and there is a very real likelihood they will never be free to return to Ukraine. Putin, like Stalin, has a kill list, which will only grow exponentially.

Canada needs to create a streamlined pipeline to bring the Ukrainian refugees to Canada. One thing is to begin to identify people and resources in Canada, that are prepared to host refugees and assist them in integrating. 💙💛

From Vernon Frolick,in  Calgary, Canada

P.S. The New Yorker: “We have to call this what it is,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said, a few days after Russia's Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion and conquest of Ukraine. “Russia’s criminal actions against Ukraine show signs of genocide.” 

President Zelensky, who lost family members during the Holocaust, and who also happens to have a law degree, sounded suitably cautious about invoking genocide, and he called for the International Criminal Court in The Hague to send war-crimes investigators as a first step.