Russia’s war crimes — the systematic murder of civilians, some shot in the head at close range while their hands were tied behind their backs — should oblige President Joe Biden to escalate the war in Ukraine. The barbarities we see on our television screens are what President Vladimir Putin is doing right now in conquered territories. He must be pushed out of them.

Until now, escalation has been treated almost universally as something to be avoided and that only Putin would attempt. Fear of war spreading across Europe or intensifying with nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction has been used to excuse Western military aid always falling short of enabling Ukraine to defeat Russia — actually winning the war.