Although the arrest warrant issued on Russian President Vladimir Putin by the International Criminal Court (ICC) last week was welcome, there was a certain puzzlement about the actual crime he is being charged with.
This is a man who launched an unprovoked invasion of a neighbouring country, Ukraine. He declares that the country should not even exist and denies that there is a valid Ukrainian identity. Those Ukrainians who believe they are not Russians are "Nazis" who must be "re-educated" or destroyed. That alone qualifies Mr Putin for a charge of genocide.
An estimated 120,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded in the fighting in the past year, together with many thousands of Ukrainian civilians. That exposes Mr Putin to the charge of waging aggressive war.
