The massacre in Bucha over the weekend at the hands of Russian soldiers is elevating concerns all over the globe. Meanwhile, Kremlin media promoters are suggesting the ethnic cleansing of multiple "generations" of Ukrainians.
Speaking to former Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, contributor Helene Cooper and analyst Rick Stengel, host Nicolle Wallace explained that the cruelty was intentional.
"The genocide is the point," she said. "They're not aiming for a military battle. They tried and failed and the genocide is the military strategy. And as President Zelensky said today, you know, over to you, western world."
Stengel agreed, noting that libraries are filled with stories of brutality at the hands of Russian troops during World War II.
"The great British military historian said the largest, greatest number of mass rapes was by Russian troops during and after World War II," he said. "So, this is in their game plan as it were because they, you know, the Russian military has never been known for its subtlety and when subtlety doesn't work, they go to brutality. Even genocide."
He went on to cite Cooper and Rhodes, saying that it's time to send them offensive weapons.
"The war has changed," said Stengel. "It's not an invasion of an entire nation. It's moving east and south and I would argue it would be a war of attrition in those areas and we could send more offensive weapons because they're not in danger of going into nato territory in the west and Poland and Romania. It does seem like a different war now and I do feel like the west has been a little bit behind the curve. Both with sanctions and with supplying weapons and now we should try to get ahead of the curve."
See the exchange below:
The brutality is the pointwww.youtube.com
