Germany’s foreign intelligence service claims to have intercepted radio communications in which Russian soldiers discuss carrying out indiscriminate killings in Ukraine.

In two separate communications, Russian soldiers described questioning Ukrainian soldiers as well as civilians and then shooting them, according to an intelligence official familiar with the findings who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.

The findings, first reported by the German magazine Der Spiegel and confirmed by three people briefed on the information, further undermine Russia’s denials of involvement in the carnage. Russia has claimed variously that atrocities are being carried out only after its soldiers leave occupied areas or that scenes of massacres of civilians are “staged.”

….
“Just the fact that they would be talking to each other about these killings would indicate that and would disprove any suggestion that these were kind of spontaneous, random events,” he added.

Remember, The attack from the north need not be decisive, it only need be strong enough to force the Ukrainians to withdraw from the east to protect their rear. A small attack from Belarus need not penetrate very deeply, and may be able to elude detection by the West’s satellites. Even if the Ukrainians are able to withdraw in good order back to the W bank of the Dneipr, It will leave the Eastern half of the country open to the Russian panzers.

That’s what I’d do if I was Putin, but, of course, he ain’t me.

But if I was Biden, I would pass the word right away that if any other country tries to take advantage of the situation the US WILL intervene and cover Ukraine’s back.

Vilnius, Tallin, Warsaw, Berlin, London; sure. Or further away. Hopefully he, and his sycophants realize the fallout will drift over Russia if they use a nuke anywhere in Europe.

Which leaves North America. Or Japan. And he still might get his proxy in North Korea to do it.

After a couple of years of increasing tension, Russia unleashed a major invasion marked by relentless airstrikes and salvos of heavy artillery. Thousands of fighters and tens of thousands of Chechen civilians were killed. The Chechen capital, Grozny, was laid to waste.

Block after block, most every building was completely gutted. No other city had been so intensely bombed for decades. The devastation evoked those black-and-white photos of European cities pummeled in World War II.

https://www.npr.org/2022/03/12/1085861999/russias-wars-in-chechnya-offer-a-grim-warning-of-what-could-be-in-ukraine

Putin is a war criminal many times over

OTOH, the systematic and indiscriminate bombing of residential areas on such a mass scale as we have seen in a number of cities, as well as attacks on refugee columns and evacuation corridors, is clearly done for military reasons, it forces the Ukrainians to divert resources from the battlefield in order to protect civilians. Its still a war crime, but at least it makes sense from a military point of view. Still, unlike the atrocities I mention above, this bombing must originate from higher levels of command. They can’t blame it on rogue soldiers or renegade commanders. And the sheer scale of the bombing tells me its not an error or accident either.

That’s all the evidence any war crimes tribunal should need.