We’re Negotiating with War Criminals
No amount of diplomatic palaver can paper over Russia’s record of kidnapping Ukrainian children, executing POWs, and targeting civilians.
WE FIND OURSELVES IN WHAT President Zelensky of Ukraine has recently called a “disinformation bubble” regarding the war in Ukraine, so perhaps it’s time for some cold, hard facts—what the military might call a “BFO,” a blinding flash of the obvious. Vladimir Putin started this war in Ukraine by launching an unprovoked invasion. Throughout the three years of this conflict, Russian forces have purposely committed documented war crimes. Yet the Kremlin—now aided by some in the United States—continues to spread propaganda to mask the truth. From the deliberate bombing of civilian infrastructure to mass executions in places like Bucha to the kidnapping of Ukrainian children, the evidence of war crimes is overwhelming. And we are negotiating with them.
While waging an unprovoked and brutal campaign of destruction, Russians have actively recruited some to support their story of this conflict through large-scale messaging campaigns, while attempting to silence anyone who dares to expose their atrocities through intimidation.
Some of Russia’s attempts to push its message and silence its enemies—especially within Russia—were more sophisticated than others. For example, I had traveled to Russia multiple times, and was even once invited to speak at their military’s famed Voroshilov Academy. Then, in May 2022, Russia published a list of 963 Americans (and a few Canadians) permanently banned from entering that country. I was on that list. While I wasn’t surprised—in fact, I considered it an honor—it was hard to understand why some of the others were included: Morgan Freeman, Mark Zuckerberg, Lloyd Austin, Canadian First Lady Sophie Trudeau, and even a few dead people. Maybe the Russian foreign ministry was worried that John McCain would tell the truth about the “special military operation” to the Russian people from beyond the grave.
Perhaps I was on the list due to my media commentary. In multiple cable-news appearances, I described videos I saw of Russian forces on the frontlines, and it was easy to observe war crimes. While not a lawyer, I was a soldier, and like all American soldiers, I had been trained on what not to do in combat. Through basic training, officer accession, and a career of any length, U.S. military personnel receive a rigorous education on the laws of war and the Geneva Conventions. All troops learn about following rules of engagement, treatment of prisoners of war, the prohibition of torture, and the distinction between combatants and civilians. Special emphasis is placed on Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions forbidding torture and cruel treatment, Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibiting forced deportations, and Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention banning the destruction of civilian property without military necessity. Officers and sergeants receive additional training on command and leadership responsibility, and judge advocate general officers provide continuous legal oversight to commanders, ensuring compliance with the United States Uniform Code of Military Justice and international humanitarian law.
When U.S. soldiers violate any of these boundaries, they are held responsible. But in viewing films of Russian tactics, I saw unlawful actions executed by soldiers who appeared to have little or no training with no accountability from any level of leadership.
“War crimes” is a legal term, but it’s also used colloquially. To illustrate the kinds of abuses our new interlocutors committed, here are five examples, linked to specific articles of law, of the scope and scale of the offenses committed since February 2022:
Estimates suggest that nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly taken to Russia since the start of the invasion in 2022. These actions are a war crime under Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the forcible transfer of protected persons from occupied territories. The deportation of children with the intent to permanently remove them from their country violates international humanitarian law.
Russian forces have deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and energy facilities. One of the more recent prominent instances occurred on Christmas Day 2024, when Russia launched a severe bombardment on multiple Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure, resulting in significant power outages across the country. Such attacks violate Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits destruction of property not justified by military necessity. These actions against essential services are a mark of all phases of Russia’s three-year campaign, designed to terrorize the civilian population, and they are a grave breach of international law.
Russian rocket and tube artillery have also indiscriminately shelled densely populated civilian areas, leading to significant loss of life and property. For example, in August 2024, a Russian bomb attack on Kharkiv resulted in at least eight deaths and dozens injured, including children. This violates Article 51 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions. The lack of distinction between military and civilian targets ignores the principles of proportionality and distinction in armed conflict.
Russian soldiers have been repeatedly accused of mistreating and executing Ukrainian prisoners of war, with various films showing their specific actions. Such actions violate the Third Geneva Convention, specifically Articles 13 and 14, which mandate the humane treatment of POWs with the requirement to protect them from acts of violence and intimidation. There have also been hundreds of allegations of Russian forces engaging in torture and inhumane treatment of detainees, including beatings, electric shocks, and mock executions. Such actions violate Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. The reported abuse of prisoners and civilians in occupied territories reflects a blatant disregard for human dignity and international legal standards.
There is documented widespread sexual violence committed by Russian forces against Ukrainian civilians and detainees. The United Nations has verified more than ninety cases of sexual violence in Russian-occupied areas, affecting victims ranging from 4 to over 80 years old. There are likely thousands of such cases for which evidence was less available. These acts include rape, forced nudity, and other forms of sexual abuse, often used systematically as a weapon of war to instill fear and exert control over the population. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has reported that detainees in Russian-controlled areas are subjected to brutal treatment, including sexual violence, as a form of torture. These violations have been recognized as war crimes and crimes against humanity, prompting calls for international accountability and support for survivors.
In occupied regions, Russian forces have compelled Ukrainian civilians to join pro-Russian militias. Forcing individuals to take up arms against their own country under duress undermines their rights and breaches international law—Article 51 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Russian forces have also employed starvation as a method of warfare by destroying food supplies and blocking humanitarian aid. These actions violate Article 54 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, which specifically condemns depriving civilians of essential sustenance.
These are just examples of the indiscriminate attacks on civilian infrastructure, unlawful detentions, and widespread reports of human rights abuses. The people who represent the nation that has committed these war crimes are sitting across the table from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, discussing diplomacy with the hope of relief from devastating sanctions and an end to a conflict they started, all the while continuing to inflict suffering on Ukraine. American officials, following the initial talks in Saudi Arabia, focused on three primary objectives: restoring diplomatic relations between our two countries, establishing negotiation teams, and planning for post-war cooperation.
Those who have suffered the atrocities—the civilians tortured in occupied territories, the children abducted, the prisoners of war executed—are not in the room. While diplomacy is necessary in ending any conflict, it should not come at the cost of overlooking the brutal reality of Russian aggression and the continuous commission of war crimes. While these negotiations might produce a temporary ceasefire, there can be no lasting peace between the perpetrators of these detestable crimes and the victims who have shown the world their willingness to fight back.
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