One of the big concerns in the West, and particularly in Ukraine, is, when Russia’s war against Ukraine eventually comes to an end, will the perpetrators of war crimes pay a price for their crimes? The issue is important for a widely understood reason— and also for a less-widely known psychological reason.

Deterrence is a well-understood reason for wanting war criminals to pay a price for their crimes, acknowledges Yael Danieli, Ph.D., founder and director at International Center for Multigenerational Legacies of Trauma. Humanity needs there to be a deterrent so people in the future will know that committing war crimes has consequences. And to work as a deterrent, the punishment needs to be severe.

To be truly effective as a deterrent, perpetrators of murder, rape, kidnapping, and torture need to face consequences that go beyond jail time and include paying reparations to victims. Many who think about these issues want to see confiscation of all the perpetrator's........

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