War crimes in Ukraine

It is an unbelievable level of depravity shown by a developed countries army, surely?

I can't even read the mumsnet thread

As a parent of a serving officer in our armed forces, I can honestly say that I haven’t heard them or their friends ever discussing becoming desensitised to what they witness.

Bosnia was brutal, and has had a lasting effect on those who served there.

I think it’s all to do with the discipline and training and lower ranking Russian troops appear to have little of either.

All that can be done is for every piece of evidence to be recorded and dated and publicised, particularly in Russia, although many won't accept it, and some of the perpetrators will eventually be brought to justice.

The mills of God grind slow but they grind exceeding small

You could be right Doodledog. I cannot believe anyone in their right mind could do these things, but we know they do. Maybe they become desensitised to these horrors.

I wonder if they have to become dehumanised before they can take part? If it's acceptable to kill, and maim, and destroy (which at some level they have to believe in order to do it) then what can seriously be off the table?

I know it’s war, and terrible things happen in war, but I can’t understand the mindset of soldiers who rape and execute civilians. Why isn’t the fact that they are at war enough, why do they terrorise and hurt innocent civilians?

It is no surprise that this sort of thing has been going on. It would have surprised me if it hadn't, and I dread to think what the women have been going through.

There is no excuse for it - none - but war is horrible, and always has been.

I spent some time on the Mumsnet Ukraine thread yesterday evening and went to bed utterly sickened by what I had been reading about the atrocities in the occupied towns. It wasn't that I had been previously unaware, because I had already seen so much on twitter, it just hit me very badly.

But, in all this, I can't help thinking that there have been other atrocities perpetuated world wide that we have barely concerned ourselves with. We seem so helpless in the face of violence and brutality.

BTW The Mumsnet Ukraine threads are excellent. This is the latest:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/4519959-Ukraine-Invasion-Part-18?watched=1

It is absolutely abhorrent maddyone

They have also discovered part burnt bodies of females who have been raped left by the side of roads.

It was on the BBC this morning