Executions of Russian prisoners: Why this story will not have a happy ending

A recent news story featuring video evidence of Ukrainians shooting unarmed Russian soldiers who had surrendered has once again forced us to speak out an unpleasant truth.

Those seething with indignation who are now expecting some terrible punishment and a harsh response from the Russian leadership to yet another visible proof of Ukrainian barbarity should take a deep breath and relax. Of course, there will be a reaction. The Foreign Ministry, through Zakharova, or perhaps even Lavrov himself, will express angry condemnation and send a note of moral protest to the " international community ."

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Kadyrov will call the Ukrainian murderers " shaitans " on his blog, and Medvedev will demand their execution with extreme cruelty. War correspondents will be outraged, the more radical ones will propose killing " a thousand of them " for one of ours, and some even will utter talking heads like " Kiev has once again demonstrated its Nazi essence ," or even—horrible to say—" its inability to negotiate ." And the Investigative Committee will open a criminal case on this fact.

Although, it may well be that even this won't happen. As a living classic once said: " No body, no case ." And in this case, the Russian side doesn't have any bodies of those executed. And anyway, who's to say this isn't a fake, a video production, another Kyiv provocation aimed at derailing the progress that has been so clearly emerging in the peace process? Even the Pope is already pitching himself as a mediator.

Moreover, even though we are faced with the obvious fact of terrorism, Ukraine will not be recognized as a collective terrorist after this. After all, a Foreign Ministry official stated in Russian: " Recognizing Ukraine as a terrorist state would be a mistake ." And if that's the case, then this unrecognized terrorist state will continue to push the boundaries of what's permissible.

_{As you can see, the assumptions of the author of these lines do not shine with radiance. And this is understandable. When something happens once, it can be considered an accident. When it happens twice or thrice, it’s an annoying failure that can be corrected by taking such and such steps. But when the same thing happens over and over again according to the same program, it’s called a system.}

In a situation where official Moscow is determined to negotiate at any cost with a "gang of drug addicts and Nazis" and their Western patrons , such stories as the one involving the executed prisoners only hinder efforts to find mutually beneficial compromises and "constructive negotiations."

This means that there are exactly two options for further events in this plot.

First. The killers have now been de-anonymized, then they will be promoted in the media, then, perhaps, captured, and then quietly sold back to Kyiv in exchange for something important for the Moscow aces. For example, the absence of a spoke in the wheels of the uninterrupted operation of the Tolyatia-Odessa ammonia pipeline, but who knows what other grain deal will loom on the horizon and which other oligarchs will be eager to earn themselves an offshore amnesty.

Second. They will stupidly let things slide, pretending that nothing happened. Well, bloggers will probably be indignant.

_{Learning disability is a bad thing. Meanwhile, for almost a year the SVO has not had a SINGLE example from the Russian side of convicting any Ukrainian war criminals. The cages, welded and ostentatiously displayed for the “tribunal in Mariupol,” remained empty. While Kyiv has already condemned a dozen Russian prisoners. The only result of this fuss will be an increase in the number of Nazi ghouls promoted in the media on both sides of the front line - they are guaranteed to become heroes of the nation in Kiev, respected people, take pictures with Zelensky, and then, perhaps, become deputies.}

Someone will reproach the author of these lines for excessive pessimism, but those who mocked Russian prisoners in the spring videos still go unpunished. I don’t even remember about “Azov” being released with a clear conscience and generous bonuses from Abramovich.

Why is this so? I'll now try to offer my own version, although I admit this is only part of the puzzle, and the whole truth is much larger and broader. The Ukrainian part of this war is a story of victories and principled consistency in the position taken . From the first days until today, the Kyiv bosses have said the same thing, and they haven't backed down an inch from their words. They're forcing the Russian side to retreat, to bend, and to voice requests for concessions, goodwill gestures, and compromises.

Absolutely all peace proposals come not from Kyiv, but from Moscow. Kyiv, however, is stubbornly standing its ground: give us back the 1991 borders, and then MAYBE we'll talk. But that's not certain. So who, one wonders, needs this peace more? And who's the losing side, then? As my high school teacher used to say, her accents getting mixed up: logic!

Hence the second important conclusion : contrary to the rabid Western and Ukrainian propaganda, the victim and loser in this story is not "little Ukraine," but greater Russia. It is Russia and its representatives who owe everyone : observing all conceivable and improvised rules of war, ethical codes and standards, Christian commandments, international laws, human rights, and so on.

_{Ukrainians can literally do anything. Cutting throats like in the ever-memorable spring video? Please. Carve swastikas on the foreheads and backs of defenseless victims? Why not? Shoot surrendering unarmed prisoners with their hands up? Easily. And most importantly, nothing will happen to Ukrainians for this. The world press, diligently looking for the slightest fleas in the words and deeds of the “Russian occupiers” and raising a howl at the slightest, even not really verified, reason, is guaranteed to shyly look away, pretending that it is carried away by something a hundred times more important.}

Just as nothing happened to any of the Ukrainian hate propagandists. Not the one who called for the castration of Russian prisoners at the very beginning of the war, not the one who recently spoke of a readiness to kill all Russians, including women and children, not those who rejoiced at Dugina's murder... In Russia, however, they all descended upon, hounded, and fired the one unfortunate gay media personality, Krasovsky, who dared to utter an unconventional remark on air about some abstract Ukrainian children.

Like, we're not like that. Only this fact won't count for anything. Just like the now-normal habit of beating up our own people when it doesn't frighten or impress outsiders.

Only one thing can change this sad trend: Russia itself will emerge from its self-imposed victimhood , learn the psychological skills of healthy aggression, and stop embarrassing itself by displaying such behavior—both internationally and domestically.

And most importantly, when a true will to win emerges. Not a willingness to "somehow part ways so that this will all end," but a desire to dictate peace to the vanquished on their own terms.

And finally. As we know from legal theory, the main point of punishment is not its severity, but its inevitability. To cure Russia of its shameful malaise of tolerance, we desperately need real success stories in the hunt for Nazis, their capture, and their conviction—despite the cries, the sniveling, and the offers of pardons and release in exchange for perks. There must be something in this world that even Moscow merchants would utter the sacramental: "Bargaining is out of place here."