Murderous Putin is sure of his own impunity. He could not be more wrong | Peter Pomerantsev

The Russian dictator believes himself to be above international law but there are many ways to make him pay for his war crimes

It has been a good week for Vladimir Putin. On Thursday, a Russian missile hit a cafe in eastern Ukraine, killing more than 50 people, including a six-year-old boy. On Monday, the Russian-leaning Robert Fico was elected prime minister of Slovakia, pledging to cut military supplies to Ukraine. In America, Republicans and Democrats are having fisticuffs over funding for Ukraine, a previously bipartisan issue becoming ever more polarised. Meanwhile, the EU admits it can't match US levels of support.

With every atrocity that goes unpunished, Russia's aim of furthering an age of utter impunity, where dictators can slaughter civilians and wipe out whole nations as they please, comes closer. And as Ukraine's allies crack and dither, Russian arms production is ramping up to unprecedented levels, churning out more drones and missiles. Putin thinks that if he can keep this up until November 2024, and Donald Trump wins the US election, he's victorious.

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