“We have to warn you.”

I was watching Lester Holt on NBC Nightly News last night. Right out of the gate, he started warning viewers about the images they were about to see. I needed the warning.

Pictures like I have never seen. Mass graves. Bodies in the streets. Some had been bound before they were shot. Reports of women being raped then murdered.

The place is Bucha, Ukraine. President Zelensky toured the city. His assessment: “These are war crimes and they will be recognized by the world as genocide.”

President Biden isn’t going that far. When asked if it was genocide, he said, “No, I think it’s a war crime.”

Still, the U.S. will try and remove Russia from the United Nations Human Rights Council. That should be pretty easy to do given what we have seen. Not a lot of “human rights” from the Russians these days. Horrible.

President Zelensky will speak to the U.N. Security Council today. As he accuses Russia of genocide, the Russian ambassador says evidence of war crimes has been staged.

Tom Friedman writes an interesting opinion piece for the New York Times. “Putin Had No Clue How Many of Us Would Be Watching.”

Friedman suggests the war between Russia and Ukraine might be considered the first true “world war.” He calls it World War Wired. “Everyone on the planet can observe the fighting, participate in some way, or be affected economically— no matter where they live.”

I get his point. Everyone is watching this happen in real time. On our phones. On our tablets. Yes, some are still watching it play out on TV.

“We have to warn you,” Lester said. I’m glad he did. In the news business, that disclaimer is also heads up. Don’t take your eyes off of what you are about to see. I can’t unsee what I saw in Ukraine last night.