Vladimir Putin: is the Russian leader guilty of war crimes?
EPA-EFE/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin/Sputnik
The Conversation’s weekly round-up of some of the best articles about the war in Ukraine.
From left, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Joe Biden.
Associated Press and Ukraine government
The current conflict in Ukraine has three key leaders, each of whom uses a different approach to the crisis.
Defiant: Volodymyr Zelensky is rallying Ukrainians with a series of video messages as Russian assassination squads try to hunt him down.
EPA-EFE/Ukranian presidential press service handout
Volodymyr Zelensky remains in Kyiv, rallying resistance to the Russian invasion.
A woman pays homage at the memorial to victims of the 1941 Nazi massacre of Jews in Babi Yar in Kyiv, Ukraine.
AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
Over two days in September 1941, more than 33,000 Jews were murdered by Nazi forces and their Ukrainian collaborators in Babi Yar.
The Volodymyr the Great monument, erected in 1853, in Kyiv. Volodymyr was a warlord who became the first Russian ruler to convert to Christianity in the late 900s. A similar statue was erected in Moscow in 2016 as a counter to Ukraine’s.
(Shutterstock)
As an independent country, Ukraine has suffered from corruption, poverty and violent periods, but Vladimir Putin’s view of Ukrainian history in Ukraine is deeply, perhaps deliberately flawed.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been lauded for his resistance to the Russian invasion.
Photo by Laurent Van der Stockt for Le Monde/Getty Images
A political philosopher explains the moral symbolism ascribed to Zelenskyy’s ‘heroism’ and why he offers hope to those who hold democracy dear.
Screengrab of unarmed Ukrainian civilians trying to stop Russian convoys.
Twitter
Nonviolent protest could also prove effective in stopping hostilities in Ukraine.
War is hell: protesters gather in Warsaw.
EPA-EFE/ Marcin Obara
Truth may be the first casualty of war, but knowledge and expertise is all the more important.
Sacred memory: the Holocaust shrine at Babyn Yar in Kyiv where 34,000 Jews were murdered in the SS in 1941.
EPA-EFE/Sergey Dolzhenko
The site of the Babyn Yar memorial represents one of the worst atrocities of the second world war.
Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to supporters after the second round of presidential elections in Kyiv, Ukraine, in April 2019.
(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
During Ukraine’s darkest hours, Volodymyr Zelensky has shown himself to be a man for the people, of the people — not just in rhetoric, but more importantly, in action.
Key target: Kyiv’s iconic TV tower.
Justin Yau/Sipa USA/Alamy Stock Photo
Putin has clearly defined political objectives, but Russian military planners have not gone about them the right way.
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan speaks about the Ukraine crisis during the daily White House press briefing on Feb. 11, 2022, in Washington, D.C.
Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
The US dramatically changed how it shares intelligence in the period before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s iPhone selfies quickly went viral.
Still of YouTube video
A social media scholar says the authenticity, connection and immediacy of Zelenskyy’s appeal explains why his videos were so powerful.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
Scott Morrison has announced A$105 million in a package of military and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, and flagged he would support Russia being thrown out of the G20.
Sergei Guneyev / EPA-EFE
Putin has said he wants a new regime in Ukraine. His inspiration may come from a surprising historical source.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed the war on Ukraine is a ‘peacekeeping mission.’
Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
A Holocaust historian explains why Ukrainian history needs to be understood in terms of both past violence against Jews as well as the state’s pluralistic vision.
Russians in Moscow and elsewhere flocked to ATMs to withdraw cash, fearful that the ruble will plunge further due to Western sanctions.
AP Photo/Victor Berzkin
By working with allies, the Biden administration has been able to place severe sanctions on Russia – including targeting Putin’s inner circle and banning banks from SWIFT.
EPA-EFE/Sergey Dolzhenko
The previous, Minsk II agreement has failed to bring peace for seven years.
A Ukrainian serviceman, seen through a camouflage mesh, stands at a frontline position in the Luhansk region, eastern Ukraine, in January 2022.
(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
The risk to Ukraine’s democracy currently lies with the politicians who have offshore assets that can be massaged and altered from Moscow or elsewhere. Preventing this is essential.
Russian tanks take part in drills at the Kadamovskiy firing range in the Rostov region in southern Russia in January 2022. Tens of thousands of Russian troops are positioned near Ukraine.
(AP Photo)
Pro-democracy uprisings in Slavic states were unsuccessful, but there’s festering discontent in the region. Russia attributes it to western interference, and intends to reverse the trend in Ukraine.