The Crimes Trump is About to Let Russia Get Away With

Ukrainians are being urged to accept the situation, make concessions, and forget everything Russia has done. But now is actually the time to remember.

Annexation of Crimea

In February 2014, unidentified armed fighters seized administrative buildings on the Ukrainian peninsula and subsequently held an illegal referendum on so-called "accession" to Russia. As a result, over 200,000 people were forced to leave Crimea, and the once-thriving resort peninsula became host to dozens of military bases.

Russian aggression in Eastern Ukraine

In the spring of 2014, groups controlled by Russian intelligence officers seized power in several Ukrainian cities. This marked the beginning of a hybrid war that lasted until 2022, causing thousands of civilian and military casualties.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 downing

In July 2014, Russian-backed militants used a Russian Buk missile system to shoot down a passenger flight traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 298 passengers and crew members perished. In 2022, a Dutch court ruled that the missile system had been brought in from Russia before the attack and returned there afterward. Those directly responsible for the crime were identified as Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinsky, and Leonid Kharchenko—two of whom were Russian citizens and military personnel.

Bucha massacre

Between February and March 2022, Russian troops occupied the small town of Bucha near Kyiv. After its liberation, bodies of murdered civilians were found throughout the city, including mass graves. Many victims showed signs of torture and sexual violence. In total, 458 people were executed or tortured to death by Russian forces. Similar mass graves and torture chambers were discovered in other cities and regions, including the eastern city of Izium, where 447 bodies were exhumed—414 of whom were civilians.

Bombing of the Mariupol Drama Theater

The battle for Mariupol, a city in southern Ukraine, lasted 86 days, 82 of which it was completely surrounded. Russian forces indiscriminately attacked the city with all types of weapons. In March 2022, they bombed a maternity hospital and a general hospital. Shortly afterward, they dropped a bomb on the city's drama theater, which was serving as a shelter for civilians. Estimates suggest that up to 600 people died in the attack. Overall, around 20,000 civilians were killed during Russia’s assault on Mariupol, and approximately 90% of the city was destroyed.

Disrupting global food security

Almost immediately after launching its full-scale invasion, Russia began stealing grain from occupied Ukrainian territories and targeting grain storage facilities. In total, Russians looted over $720 million worth of Ukrainian grain. Before the war, Ukraine supplied more than 15% of global corn exports, 10% of wheat, 15-20% of barley, and over 50% of sunflower oil. Russian aggression threatened food security for at least 70 million people worldwide, particularly in parts of Asia and Africa. However, Ukraine managed to drive the Russian fleet away using maritime drones, reopening the grain corridor that Russia had attempted to shut down.

Kramatorsk train station attack

In April 2022, a Russian missile strike hit a railway station in the eastern city of Kramatorsk, where thousands of people were waiting to evacuate to safer regions of Ukraine. The attack killed 61 people and injured over 100 others.

Deportation of Ukrainian children

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has been organizing the mass deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children. In so-called "filtration camps," children are separated from their families. They are then relocated across Russia, split from their siblings, and many are illegally adopted into Russian families—despite the possibility that their real parents are still alive. In December 2024, the suicide of a Ukrainian teenager, Oleksandr Yakushchenko, who had been forcibly taken to Russia and placed in another family, was reported. In total, nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia.

Ecocide and destruction of the Kakhovka Dam

In June 2023, Russian forces blew up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam on the Dnipro River, causing a massive ecological disaster. The disaster affected 600,000 hectares of land—an area the size of half of Montenegro. The Kakhovka Reservoir lost over 70% of its water volume—18 billion cubic meters—enough to provide the entire global population with drinking water for two days.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has committed over 6,500 environmental crimes against Ukraine. The country has become the most heavily mined in the world, with nearly one-third of its land contaminated by explosive devices. Even in peaceful European cities, the air contains traces of Russian missile explosions. Toxic particles from Russian missile strikes have already spread to Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Serbia, Croatia, and Poland. The estimated environmental damage caused by Russia’s war exceeds $71 billion.

Attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure

Since October 2022, Russia has been deliberately targeting Ukraine’s energy grid, causing nationwide blackouts and water shortages. Civilians have been left without heating during the winter. In 2024 alone, Russian forces launched over 1,100 missiles at Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, destroying nearly half of the country’s power system.

Executions of prisoners of war

Under international conventions, prisoners of war are protected and cannot be tortured, mistreated, or executed. However, Russia blatantly violates these agreements. In February 2025, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission reported a sharp increase in executions of captured Ukrainian soldiers—79 such war crimes were committed in just the last six months. "These incidents did not occur in isolation. Russian public figures have openly called for inhumane treatment and even the execution of captured Ukrainian servicemen," said mission head Danielle Bell.

Nuclear terrorism

The infamous Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant—site of one of the worst nuclear disasters in history—was occupied on the first day of Russia’s full-scale invasion, in direct violation of international law prohibiting attacks on dams, nuclear plants, and other critical infrastructure. Russian troops used the plant as a military base, stationing soldiers and equipment there.

Similarly, Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in March 2022, shelling its reactor buildings. At various times, Russian cruise missiles flew dangerously low over Ukraine’s Khmelnytskyi and South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plants. On September 19, 2022, a missile even exploded just a few hundred meters from the reactor of the latter.

These are just a few of Russia’s war crimes. Every day, Russian forces bombard civilian cities, torture prisoners, and loot Ukrainian lands. Meanwhile, Russian politicians openly disregard international agreements and speak about destroying Ukraine as a nation.

And yet, Ukraine is now being asked to forget all of this.