Allegations of genocide in Donbas
During
Following the invasion, Ukraine brought a case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to challenge Russia's accusation. During the proceedings of Ukraine v. Russian Federation, the ICJ said it had found no evidence of genocide. The International Association of Genocide Scholars also rejected Russia's accusation.[2] Further reports by 30 legal and genocide scholars warned that Russia's accusations are part of the "accusation in a mirror" technique, ultimately revealing the Russian incitement to commit genocide against Ukrainians.[3]
Donbas War and accusations
There are numerous Russian-speaking populations living in the eastern and southern Ukraine, and the Russian-speaking population accounts for the vast majority in the two regions of Donetsk and Luhansk (the Donbas) in eastern Ukraine. These regions however are still ethnically Ukrainian, with ethnic Russians being a minority. Immediately after the 2014
Altogether,
Since 2014, the Russian government has accused Ukraine of persecuting Ukrainians in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine with threats of violence or death, and Russian president Putin compared the situation to genocide in 2015, 2019, and 2021.[6][7]
On 23 February 2022, the day before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine called on the international community at the United Nations General Assembly to stop Russia's plans of aggression. Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, said: "In view of the blatant genocide and the most important the human rights of the people of the world - the right to life are violated, and our country cannot remain indifferent to the fate of the 4 million people of the Donbass."[8]
At a meeting with the
Reactions
The
On 7 March 2022, Ukraine filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), stating that Russia's allegations of genocide were untrue and in no case could provide a legal basis for the invasion.[12] On 16 March the International Court of Justice stated it had seen no evidence of genocide, and ruled that Russia must "immediately cease its military operations in Ukraine". it added: "Ukraine has a reasonable right not to accept military action by the Russian Federation to prevent and punish the so-called genocide in Ukraine."[13]
The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) issued a statement in February 2022, on behalf of more than 300 genocide experts, condemning Russia's "misuse of the term genocide" to "justify its own violence".[2] Melanie O'Brien, president of the IAGS, said "there is absolutely no evidence that a genocide is taking place in Ukraine".[12]
In February 2022 German Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed Putin's claims as "ridiculous", saying there was no evidence of genocide in eastern Ukraine.[14]
See also
- Allegations of genocide of Ukrainians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Disinformation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Operation Himmler, 1939 false-flag operations by Germany to justify the Invasion of Poland
- Russia–Ukraine relations
- Russian war crimes#Ukraine
- Russo-Ukrainian War
- Where have you been for eight years?
References
- ^ Hinton, Alexander (25 February 2022). "Putin's claims that Ukraine is committing genocide are baseless, but not unprecedented". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022.
- ^ S2CID 250513465.
- ^ "Independent Legal Analysis of the Russian Federation's Breaches of the Genocide Convention in Ukraine and the Duty to Prevent" (PDF). New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy; Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. 27 May 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-06-16. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
- ^ a b c "Conflict-related civilian casualties in Ukraine" (PDF). OHCHR. 27 January 2022. p. 3. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ "From 'frozen' conflict to full-scale invasion". Meduza. 6 March 2022. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- ^ "談烏東衝突 普欽:俄語區處境讓人聯想種族滅絕". TVBS. 2021-12-10. Archived from the original on 2022-03-31. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
- ^ "Putin says conflict in eastern Ukraine 'looks like genocide'". RFI. 2021-12-09. Archived from the original on 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
- ^ Nichols, Michelle (2022-02-23). "Ukraine appeals for U.N. help, Russia says can't ignore 'genocide'". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
- ^ "Putin reiterates that Ukraine never existed and he was forced to start war". Ukrainska Pravda. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
- ^ "Fact check: Russia falsely blames Ukraine for starting war", VOG, 2022-03-03, archived from the original on 2022-03-03, retrieved 2022-03-30
- ^ "OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine", OSCE, archived from the original on 2022-03-29, retrieved 2022-03-30
- ^ a b "烏俄種族滅絕訴訟案 國際法院將開庭聽審". 聯合新聞網. 2022-03-07. Archived from the original on 2022-04-09. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
- ^ "Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russian Federation): The Court indicates provisional measures" (PDF). International Court. 2022-03-16. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
- ^ "Ukraine crisis: Vladimir Putin address fact-checked". BBC News. 2022-02-22. Archived from the original on 2022-02-23. Retrieved 2022-09-16.