The Observer view on the west’s response to war in Ukraine | editorial observer

Russia’s missile attack on Kramatorsk railway station is an act of unforgivable barbarism. How many more such atrocities must occur before western leaders admit their Ukraine strategy is failing? How many more children must die before Nato stops making excuses for inaction? How much longer before Joe Biden, Boris Johnson, Olaf Scholz and the rest face up to what seems an inescapable choice: either intervene directly – or lose?

These are uncomfortable, frightening questions. But with every missile that explodes, with every illegal cluster bomb and artillery shell, with every war crime committed, they become harder to duck. Sanctions on Russia and arms for Ukraine are celebrated by western governments as an unprecedented, unifying success. They tell each other what a good job they’re doing. But it’s not working. Vladimir Putin has been branded a war criminal and pariah. His funds have been frozen, his cronies penalized. Moscow’s strategic objectives have not been met, his discredited army is a vicious rabble, his war aims are in ruins, just like Mariupol and Kharkiv. His country of him faces incalculable long-term economic and reputational damage.

But Putin does not care. He does not stop. Nor is there any sign he will. Good-faith attempts to talk sense to him have failed, used by the Kremlin to obfuscate and delay. Hopes that internal opposition may unseat him remain mere hopes. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s brave, terrified citizens await the next dreadful blow while their president pleads for more arms, more help, more anything.

Russian “monsters” were responsible for the carnage at Kramatorsk, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. It was part of a deliberate strategy to kill civilians and create a lifeless wasteland. “They have not abandoned their methods. Lacking the strength and courage to fight us on the battlefield, they are cynically destroying the civilian population… This is an evil that has no limits. And if it is not punished, it will never stop,” Zelenskiy said.

He’s right. Of course he’s right. Anyone watching television or reading uncensored newspapers and social media knows he’s right. And so, too, do all 30 Nato powers. Yet even as they condemn Kramatorsk, Bucha and other obscenities, millions more unprotected Ukrainians are told to expect an even greater enormity – an all-out offensive in eastern Ukraine by reinforced Russia troops.

This, as the west watches, is what Ukraine’s democracy has been reduced to by Putin. The people’s choice: run for your life or face being raped, tortured and killed.

Such barbarity cannot stand. Continued, shaming, ineffectual western shouting from the sidelines is unacceptable. The sooner Biden and the rest stop wringing their hands and start calling the shots the better. Though welcome, Boris Johnson’s show of solidarity in Kyiv yesterday will not change calculations in Moscow. Putin rules by fear. So frighten him back. He does not want to fight with the west, let alone a third world war – Nato’s excuse of last resort for refusing to confront him. He knows he’d lose. It scares him.

So here are some of the hard choices western leaders must urgently consider. First, direct intervention to create a safe haven in western Ukraine, where displaced people may congregate instead of fleeing abroad. Inform Moscow in advance of its location and boundaries. Be clear it will be protected by Nato air power and ground forces invited in by Kyiv.

Second, declare the unoccupied city of Odessa off-limits. Send naval forces into international waters in the Black Sea and warn Russia to cease coastal bombardments or face serious, unspecified consequences. Third, tell Putin that if his artillery and missile units fire on civilians again, as in Kramatorsk, they will be deemed legitimate Nato military targets. Fourth: supply fighter planes and tanks to Kyiv. Fifth: block all Russian fossil fuel exports.

These are radical choices. The risks are obvious. But the only alternative is endless slaughter. If the west is serious about stopping the war, these and similarly robust actions may be the only way left.