For the moment, it looks unlikely that Putin will be put on trial anytime soon. And Khan — and other legal investigators — will be looking at violations by all parties to the conflict. But there’s no doubting that this week’s assault has raised the Russian leader’s exposure to justice, according to legal experts and human rights advocates interviewed by POLITICO.

After years in which Putin operated with some degree of deniability — or in areas in which prosecutors have limited jurisdiction — the Russian president has openly led the attack on Ukraine, sparking outrage around the world.

“Unlike other situations where you might argue that there are forces in the field that are out there doing nasty things and the top brass doesn’t have control of them, that kind of defense isn’t going to work here,” said Stephen Rapp, who served as U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues from 2009 to 2015. “Very little is going to happen in this theater on the Russian side that wouldn’t be traceable right up the chain of command to the top of the Russian state.”

Ukraine is, of course, far from being the only place where Putin has waged war. As fighting continues and legal investigators begin to do their work, POLITICO also examines the broader case against the Russian president — should he ever face trial for his actions in The Hague.