Putin forfeits his seat at humanity’s table

President Putin forfeits his seat at humanity’s table, given the reported war crimes from Russia’s illicit military invasion of Ukraine. The international community cannot ignore, minimise nor spin the ongoing indiscriminate and catastrophic destruction to civilian lives, property and infrastructure. Putin’s position is untenable if Russia is to re-engage the international community at large.

Hospitals, shopping malls, markets, schools, child care centres, cultural buildings, public assets and enumerate apartment blocks are relentlessly targeted. Civilian lives are shown scant regard. Millions are without adequate food, water, clothing, electricity, shelter or an income. It’s difficult for civilians to hide safely from Russia’s incessant missiles and shells. Many are displaced, traumatised and injured.

No virtue exists in Russian soldiers shooting civilians who line up for bread, killing a mother and her children as they run for safety, or bombing pregnant mothers, the sick and elderly. Ukraine reports forced deportation, starvation and terror of civilians. Humanity at its worst.

If might is right then Adolf Hitler, Napoleon Bonaparte and Genghis Khan’s brutal and bloody invasions across countries and continents would’ve succeeded, thrived and endured. They didn’t. They couldn’t. Greatness is never forged by standing upon the dead bodies of innocent men, women and children. Neither is greatness achieved by obliterating civilians’ homes, families or way of life.

There is no humanity in inhumanity, decency in indecency, justice in injustice, truth in untruth, legitimacy in illegitimacy, honour in dishonour or compassion in cruelty. Humanity deserves so much better from our leaders.

Unless political leaders unitedly uphold a rules-based world order, national sovereignty and human decency, Russia’s war in Ukraine signals to anyone that anything goes. Nothing matters other than self-interest. Fiction trumps fact. International treaties, justice and agreements can be shredded on falsehood. Trust for one another is ephemeral and corroded, if trust even exists.

Putin may consider the current international scrutiny as unfair, for he is the latest in a long list of misguided and illegitimate invaders who’ve committed war crimes against sovereign nations. Humanity’s killing fields.

Citizens should be fighting the global cascade effects of climate change, instead we’re once again fighting each other. Humanity either learns to get along or faces hastening the next great extinction in life on Earth.

We’ve forgotten life is a privilege and our individual and collective actions are not without consequence, meaning or responsibility.

Dr Michael Walton, Clinical Psychologist, Newcastle, New South Wales