Russia is not above the law and must be held accountable for its barbarity - Angus Robertson

Just when the scenes from Ukraine were horrific enough a new level of Russian military barbarism has reared its head.

Not content with the indiscriminate bombing of Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Mariupol the Russian army has marked its humiliating withdrawal from parts of Ukraine with the summary execution of civilians. Scenes from recently liberated Bucha showed numerous ordinary people shot down in cold blood, many with their hands bound behind their backs. What possessed Russian troops to do this is beyond comprehension, but must not be beyond the law.After the Second World War, German and Japanese leaders, military commanders and even ordinary service personnel had to face justice for their crimes. The same was true in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, where for the first time a former head of state Slobodan Milošević was joined in the dock by military leaders like Ratko Mladić and lesser ranks in answering for their aggressive and genocidal policies.

Angus Robertson is the SNP MSP for Edinburgh Central

A woman kisses a man while cooking on an open fire outside an apartment building which had no electricity, water or gas since the beginning of the Russian invasion in Bucha, Ukraine, where widespread atrocities against civilians have been reported. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

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