February 24 will mark the one-year anniversary of the brutal, unprovoked, Russian full-scale invasion of an independent nation, Ukraine.
As is always the case with such momentous “milestones,” dozens – if not hundreds – of chronologies, narratives and commemoratives will be published and broadcast.
Already – with only seven days to go until that grim anniversary — more than 7,000 innocent Ukrainian civilian men, women and children have been murdered by the aggressors. Almost 12,000 have been injured. Much higher numbers are quoted elsewhere.
More than 8 million Ukrainians have sought safety and refuge outside their homeland, while more than 5 million have been uprooted from their homes, “internally displaced.”
While the exact toll is difficult to confirm, it has been reported that the number of brave Ukrainian military killed or wounded in defense of their country could be as high as 100,000.
Ukraine has been devastated.
With apologies to Tacitus, “they plunder, they steal, they slaughter, they make a wasteland and falsely call it a ‘special military operation.’”
Then, there are the countless horrific atrocities – the crimes against humanity.
Exactly one year ago, days before the Russian invasion, Vice President Kamala Harris was almost prescient when she said at the 2022 Munich Security Conference:
As we have said all along, there is a playbook of Russian aggression. And this playbook is too familiar to us all.
Russia will plead ignorance and innocence, it will create false pretext for invasion, and it will amass troops and firepower in plain sight.
We now receive reports of what appears to be provocations. And we see Russia spreading disinformation, lies, and propaganda.
Exactly one year later, in an emotional speech at the 2023 Munich Security Conference, Harris invoked powerful images of the horrors and atrocities perpetrated by the Russians in the past year and set the record starkly straight, formally and unequivocally accusing Russia of committing crimes against humanity.
But first, she recalled her warnings one year ago:
…let us all recall: Many at the time wondered how we would all respond. Many wondered: Could Russia be stopped? Would NATO come together? Would NATO break apart? And would Ukraine be prepared?
Colleagues, today, a year later, we know.
Kyiv is still standing. Russia — Russia is weakened.
Harris Continued:
• And let us be clear: Russian forces have pursued a widespread and systemic attack against a civilian population — gruesome acts of murder, torture, rape, and deportation. Execution-style killings, beatings, and electrocution.
• Russian authorities have forcibly deported hundreds of thousands of people from Ukraine to Russia, including children. They have cruelly separated children from their families.
• And we’ve all seen the images of the theater in Mariupol, where hundreds of people were killed.
• Think of the image of the pregnant mother who was killed following a strike at a maternity hospital, where she was preparing to give birth.
• Think of the images of Bucha. Civilians shot in cold blood. Their bodies left in the street. The jarring photograph of the man who was riding his bike.
• Think of the four-year-old girl who the United Nations recently reported was sexually assaulted by a Russian soldier. A four-year-old child.
She added:
…we have examined the evidence. We know the legal standards. And there is no doubt these are crimes against humanity.
The United States has formally determined that Russia has committed crimes against humanity.
And I say to all those who have perpetrated these crimes and to their superiors who are complicit in these crimes: You will be held to account.
Harris condemned Russia as a nation and Putin personally for the unwarranted aggression and crimes against humanity and redoubled the U.S. and its allies’ commitment to “uphold international rules and norms,” “to strongly support Ukraine…for as long as it takes…”
After noting the unity of Americans (“Republicans and Democrats”), of the transatlantic community and NATO alliance, and “our track record,” Harris had a direct warning for Putin. “If Putin thinks he can wait us out, he is badly mistaken. Time is not on his side.”
The U.S, Vice President concluded:
America will continue our leadership in defense of human dignity, in defense of rules and norms, and in defense of freedom and liberty. There is too much at stake to do anything less.
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… I do believe we all know when future generations look back at this moment, they will see that we understood the task before us and rose to the occasion.And so, to you I say: The United States of America is proud to be your partner in this noble pursuit.
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