Many, probably most, “socialists” are now at best saying, “well, it is too early to know yet what really happened in Bucha. We can’t trust the Western imperialist press/war propaganda.” This is a version of, “are you going to believe me or your lying eyes?” Or in this case “believe fascist loving Putin or all the photos, videos, and interviews?” To believe this is all part of some Western imperialist conspiracy requires believing that all those reporters and photographers went into that field of work as part of that conspiracy. It differs not in the slightest from the covid conspiracists approach, which requires a belief that 99% of health care workers entered that field as part of some sort of deep state conspiracy.

If such a vast coverup were possible, Bush & Co. would have manufactured “evidence” of weapons of mass destruction within weeks of having invaded Iraq.

Psychotic “Left”
Sometimes a person can function with a severe psychosis for many years. You can tell that something is “off” with the person, but they still can function. But let a crisis develop and the true extent of their psychosis is revealed.

In this case these “socialists” are living in the past. They think it is still 1917 and socialists must put all their efforts into avoiding siding with “their” capitalists, rather than seeing that if there is any historical precedent it is much closer to the time of Hitler’s invasion of one country after another.

Nor should we forget about Mariupol, where the fascist loving Putin is trying to starve an entire population inot submission or to death. Nobody, not even Putin, is denying what is happening there.

In fact, though, we don’t even need to debate the evidence about Bucha, because the Putin propaganda machine has in effect justified the atrocities there through an article written in the Russian press! (See: https://cryptodrftng.substack.com/p/day-40-what-russia-should-do-with?s=r&fbclid=IwAR1P1VbCQvQlQcBKupt2KEKXOnc7EGihI9oyWm3qTccJiKRUzmB60fMnpxc)
This means they are not denying it domestically. They did so in Orwellian terms for domestic, Russian consumption. Basically the below quoted article argues that the overwhelming majority of Ukrainians are committed nazis and any measures taken against the Ukrainian people are therefore justified.

Here are a few extracts:
“Denazification is necessary when a significant part of the people – most likely its majority – is mastered and dragged by the Nazi regime into its politics. That is, when the hypothesis “the people are good – the government is bad” does not work. The recognition of this fact is the basis of the policy of denazification, of all its activities, and the fact itself constitutes its subject….

“the Nazified mass of the population… technically cannot be directly punished as war criminals….

“Nazis who have taken up arms must be destroyed on the battlefield to the maximum extent possible….

“War criminals and active Nazis should be examplarily and demonstrably punished. A total lustration must be carried out.”

Even George Orwell could not have dreamed this up. But never fear, the psychotic “socialists” will be looking for a way to defend this. And why not? After all, they have been spouting a “light” version of this same position all along!

Note: This is being written while I am staying with some left wing comrades in Ukraine. I thought it might be too angry. I told them what it was about, and about my concerns and asked them to read it. One of the comrades simply said, “nothing can be too angry about this.”