War crimes are inevitable imo. War is the most abhorrent human invention, creating an environment in which those involved are constantly exposed to death and horror, and the lives of themselves and their peers are constantly under threat. There's no way in that environment that people will act honourably. Gentlemanly conduct in war has probably always been a myth used to boost public perception of the military. Every war will have seen the participants using underhanded or barbaric tactics. It's war. Every action in war is a crime unless its in self defence, trying to separate 'acceptable' and 'unacceptable' actions in war is redundant imo. Its all fecking unacceptable, and in such an extreme situation, extreme and repugnant events will always occur.
There's an article about Russian convoys travelling with a coach full of Ukrainian children to deter enemy fire. It's outrageous, disgusting, and you can't help but imagine how terrified those kids must be. It's also inevitable though is my point. If it makes it 1% better for the forces to do it, in an environment of constant death and horror, they will do it. If murdering civilians, rather than using resources to manage the situation, allows them to move on quickly with their next objective, they will do it. And the difficult thing psychologically to come to terms with, is that you would too, in the same situation. Their lives are on the line, honour, respect, compassion are not values they can afford in these situations, and the prevalence of such acts will only increase in the face of a stronger defence.
Rambling post but my main point is that I hope Russian people are not too harshly judged. Even the soldiers, because ultimately they're also victims of war. My ex is Russian and we've been talking recently and she has received abuse and xenophobic comments and is obviously upset about the whole situation. I hope people can keep in mind the true perpetrators in this which is the Russian government. Soldiers are and always will be human meat that is bought and manipulated to do the bidding of their masters. And Russian nationals are bystanders just as we are.