 Thanks for considering the views expressed in this ThinkTech commentary. Can we let Putin get away with it? Can Vladimir Putin continue in his open aggression, and in the deadly bombing, strafing and missile attacks on civilians, with rockets actually marked quote for the children, carefully calculated to achieve the complete destruction of Ukraine, without accountability. Can he get away with the mass and merciless murder, rape, forced deportation and the brutal atrocities he has visited on thousands of defenseless Ukrainian civilians in their homes, schools, hospitals, shelters and streets? We know that Putin is a war criminal who calls for prosecution and punishment, including capital punishment. But, so far, he has gotten away with it. Worse, he continues, and doubles down without a shred of conscience. He is also a liar, comparable to the worst monsters in world history, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and the like, who were responsible for the murder of millions over the last century. Although we thought this kind of genocide would never happen again, under Putin it is happening again now in plain view. His actions are horrendous and completely indefensible. There are large groups of lawyers and human rights advocates investigating Putin and his cadre for what they are doing. These investigators already have their proof. It's right there on global television for the world to see, accepting only Putin's twisted propaganda to the Russian people. This proof goes on day after day of TV footage documenting his atrocities in full colour and detail. Certainly this will be evidence, and will lead to much more evidence in any war crimes trial in a criminal ICC proceeding or in a civil trial for compensation by the victims and their families. But Putin brazenly denies it all. He says it's fake news and or he didn't know about it. There is, however, a doctrine in international law that makes him responsible for the atrocities of those under his command if he knew about it and didn't stop it. How could he not know? Everyone in the world knows. Of course he could stop them, he's an all-powerful despot. Even then, there's still a fair chance that he will somehow get away with it. After all, he's the chief of state of Russia and not easily available for arrest or justice. And although the UN General Assembly has removed Russia from the Human Rights Council, Russia remains on the Security Council, with Putin's veto there. Remember too that in this hybrid and asynchronous war, anything goes. At this point, the issue of atrocities and war crimes is likely to come up in any discussion of a peace agreement. If the Ukrainians want a peace agreement with Putin, he is likely to demand a pardon for these war crimes, combined with a termination of the sanctions. The Ukrainians should not give him that, but for peace and to save Ukrainian lives, Zelensky may have to consider it. Of course there are compelling reasons why the Ukrainians should not forgive or forget or compromise on this point. Even if the war crimes trials are derailed or delayed for some reason, the victims and their families should pursue their civil claims for monetary compensation in all possible jurisdictions against Russian assets, including those frozen by the sanctions. And certainly the sanctions should not be lifted until all those claims are satisfied. What's a human life worth? What's the life of a family member or child worth? What's a day of torture and suffering worth? What's the destruction of an entire country worth? History and morality and human dignity require that we bring Putin down, be that by war crimes trials, compensation claims, and regime change, whatever it takes. There must be unequivocal justice for the thousands who have been killed, and who are still being killed every day at Putin's hand. If we are to return to and protect the liberal world order for Ukraine and so many other countries, and if we are to prevent these atrocities from happening again. If the Ukrainians can be so clearly courageous, so can we. If we forget, if we let Putin get away with it, we can be sure that we will also suffer, and that what is happening now will surely happen again, and much sooner, and longer, than we like. Thanks for considering the views expressed in this ThinkTech commentary. Mahalo.