Putin must be called to answer

It is almost unknown for a serving head of state to publicly label another a war criminal, but Joe Biden was right on Wednesday to describe Vladimir Putin as such. After Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky’s horrifying account in his address to the US congress of the inhumane depravity being inflicted on his country by Mr Putin’s forces, the Russian tyrant deserves no less.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, one of Mr Putin’s closest aides, can rail all he likes about Mr Biden’s “unforgivable rhetoric”. But the fact Karim Khan, prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, is in Ukraine investigating possible war crimes charges against Mr Putin should leave him in no doubt about the determination to bring Mr Putin to book for war crimes. Sooner or later they will catch up with him. Hopefully, Mr Biden’s announcement, immediately after Mr Zelensky spoke, of an “unprecedented” $1.1bn in lethal weapons for Ukraine will help speed that process. The weapons may not be the no-fly zone the Ukrainian leader believes is imperative but, together with similar help from other countries, they should do much to assist Kyiv’s defence against the ruthless Russian onslaught.

The world, not just Ukraine, will pay a terrible price if it allows Mr Putin to get away with bombing the country into a depopulated wasteland. Mr Biden’s moral condemnation of Russia, as The Wall Street Journal noted, has been laudable. He has achieved co-operation between allies not seen in decades. He must use it to mobilise the means needed to halt the Russian despot’s murderous rampage and ensure he faces the war crimes charges he deserves.