Is Putin Committing Genocide In Ukraine?

Early April 2022 has seen allegations of Putin committing genocide in Ukraine. These allegations, as expressed by President Zelensky, came after Russian troops were retreating from Bucha and Irpin revealing the scale of atrocities perpetrated against civilians. This is not the first time the allegation of genocide has been communicated by Ukraine. Also, Russia made allegations of genocide, and indeed, justified the attack on Ukraine with this allegation.

On February 24, 2022, Putin unleashed a military attack on Ukraine, without any provocation and without any credible justification. Putin’s justification of the attack was clearly expressed in his speech, on February 23, 2022, when he said that “The purpose of this operation is to protect people who, for eight years now, have been facing humiliation and genocide perpetrated by the Kiev regime. To this end, we will seek to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine, as well as bring to trial those who perpetrated numerous bloody crimes against civilians, including against citizens of the Russian Federation.” He further added that: “We had to stop that atrocity, that genocide of the millions of people who live there and who pinned their hopes on Russia, on all of us.”

A few days later, on February 26, 2022, Ukraine filed an application instituting proceedings against the Russian Federation before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. The application concerns “a dispute . . . relating to the interpretation, application and fulfillment of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide [the Genocide Convention].” As the application states, “the Russian Federation has falsely claimed that acts of genocide have occurred in the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts of Ukraine, and on that basis recognized the so-called ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ and ‘Luhansk People’s Republic’, and then declared and implemented a ‘special military operation’ against Ukraine.” As such, the application aims to establish that “Russia has no lawful basis to take action in and against Ukraine for the purpose of preventing and punishing any purported genocide.” The application further accuses Russia of genocide by “intentionally killing and inflicting serious injury on members of the Ukrainian nationality, the actus reus of genocide under Article II of the Genocide Convention.” Lastly, the application seeks provisional measures “in order to prevent irreparable prejudice to the rights of Ukraine and its people and to avoid aggravating or extending the dispute between the parties under the Genocide Convention.” The ICJ ordered the provisional measures in March 2022.

Are any of the atrocities genocide? Despite using the word genocide, Putin failed to disclose any evidence of the alleged atrocities nor did he take any steps to address the issue other than attacking Ukraine. Indeed, Putin could have issued proceedings before the ICJ, as Ukraine did, seeking clarification and provisional measures. This has not been done. As the particulars of the alleged genocide are not available, nor is the evidence, the basis for the allegations cannot be examined.

Is Putin committing genocide in Ukraine? When asked about the issue, in an interview on April 3, 2022, President Zelensky responded affirmatively stating that Ukraine is being destroyed and exterminated by Russian forces. Similarly, the Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, stated that the “bloody massacres committed by Russian soldiers deserve to be called what they are. This is genocide, and it must be judged.” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called for accountability for “alleged cases of crimes against humanity, war crimes and, why not say it, of genocide, too.”

Genocide is defined in Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention) as any of the prohibited acts, as listed, as perpetrated with the specific intent to destroy a protected group on whole or in part. The ever growing evidence suggests that prohibited acts are being perpetrated by the Russian troops, including killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; forcibly transferring children of the group to another group, if not all five prohibited acts. The people of Ukraine would fall within one of the protected groups, as a national group (International Tribunal for Rwanda, Akayesu, 512: “a national group is defined as a collection of people who are perceived to share a legal bond based on common citizenship, coupled with reciprocity of rights and duties”). The questions is then whether Ukrainians are targeted with the prohibited acts with the specific intent to destroy the group in whole or in part.

Currently, there may not be much information in the public domain to suggest any clear expression of the specific intent to destroy, Ukrainians, as a national group, in whole or in part. However, the lack of such information in the public domain does not preclude the determination of genocide. Indeed, the specific intent to destroy could be inferred from the acts. Indeed, the legacy of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, in the case of Akayesu, suggests that in the absence of any clear expression of any such specific intent, the specific intent can be inferred from the patterns of the mass atrocities and their impact on the targeted group.

As such, the issue of Putin committing genocide in Ukraine cannot be simply rejected without exploring the evidence that continues to be brought to light as the war rages on and as Russian troops withdraw from towns revealing the true nature of their destructive occupation.