Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................ 2
Essay ......................................................................................................................... 2
Russia’s Self-Defense Claim Regarding NATO ...................................................... 3
Russia’s Self-Defense Claim Regarding Ukraine .................................................... 4
Russia’s ‘Intervention by Invitation’ Claim ............................................................... 4
Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 5
Reference List ............................................................................................................ 5
Introduction
On the 24th of February earlier this year, President Vladimir Putin of the Russian
Federation addressed the world in a television address in which he outlined the
threats that Russia and its people are facing, namely the eastward expansion of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and a threat of invasion from Ukraine
itself. He also spoke of the dangers that Russian citizens are facing in the Donbas
region of Eastern Ukraine, claiming that the genocide of millions of people is taking
place there (Putin, 2022).
Following this address, a “special military operation” was launched, and airstrikes
and bombing started in Eastern Ukraine, with Russian troops crossing the border in
military vehicles (Ukraine conflict: Russian forces attack from three sides, 2022).
Since the war began, many scholars and international human rights organisations
have debated the invasion's legality and have criticised Putin’s justification for the
widespread damage caused in Ukraine. This essay will determine whether the
initiation of the war is legal by discussing the various claims made by President Putin
in his 24 February address and comparing them to international laws regarding war.
Essay
After the events of World War II, the United Nations prohibited the use of force in
international relations, as stated in Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter:
“All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use
of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state,
or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”
However, Article 51 of the Charter asserts that states have the right to self-defence
in the event of an armed attack:
“Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or
collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United
Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain
international peace and security.”
Armed attacks are classified as ‘acts of aggression, and according to Articles 5(1)
and 5(2) of the UN General Assembly’s Definition of Aggression, “no consideration of
whatever nature, whether political, economic, military or otherwise, may serve as a
justification for aggression”, and “a war of aggression is a crime against international
peace.”
Therefore, for a country to declare war legally, it must have first been a victim of an
act of aggression, and it needs to submit its claims of self-defence (individual or
collective) to the United Nations Security Council.
President Putin invoked the right of self-defence as a justification for the war against
Ukraine, stating in his speech that “we are acting to defend ourselves from
the threats created for us and from a worse peril than what is happening now” (Putin,
2022). This speech was sent to the UN Security Council and later to the International
Court of Justice, however the debate regarding the justification of these claims is still
ongoing.
The following sections of this essay will analyse each of Russia’s self-defence claims
in turn.
Russia’s Self-Defence Claim Regarding NATO
In his speech, President Putin claims that the expansion of NATO poses a threat to
its existence and sovereignty, and he claims that NATO has supported neo-Nazis in
Ukraine and has encouraged the production of weapons in bordering countries,
(Putin, 2022).
Although NATO has indeed seen an increase in membership from Eastern European
states over recent years, there is no evidence to suggest that the organisation is
deliberately creating an alliance against Russia, and the military operations present
in the countries surrounding Russia are on a much lesser scale than Russia’s buildup of 130,000 troops on the Ukrainian border.
Furthermore, no armed attack by a member of NATO had taken place against
Russia prior to the 24th of February, which means that Russia is pre-emptively
defending itself, and whether this type of defence is justifiable in international law is
still widely contested.
If one accepts that the claim is justified, the concepts of proportionality and necessity
must be applied to Russia’s attack, as is customary in international war law. The
destruction and loss of life that has resulted from the conflict in Ukraine are far
greater than the perceived threat NATO poses to Russia, and one can argue that the
war has increased NATO’s alleged “anti-Russia” (Putin, 2022) sentiments.
Russia’s Self-Defence Claim Regarding Ukraine
Putin stated in his speech that the military operation aims to “demilitarise
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 also says that “Russia cannot feel safe, develop, and exist while facing
a permanent threat from the territory of today’s Ukraine” (Putin, 2022).
Once again, there is no evidence that Ukraine was planning an attack against the
Russian Federation, and although documents outlining a future assault in the
Donbas region were uncovered in March, the Russian government would not have
known about this attack at the time of their invasion. Furthermore, as will be
discussed in the next section, Donbas is not a separate state from Ukraine, and thus
would not have met the criteria for the declaration of war as stipulated in Articles 2(4)
and 51 of the UN Charter.
Ukraine also has a much smaller military arsenal than Russia does, and therefore
the attack launched on Ukraine is not proportional to the assault Ukraine may have
been planning to launch against them.
Russia’s ‘Intervention by Invitation’ Claim
Russia’s main reason for its attack on Ukraine is the protection of its citizens in the
Donbas region. President Putin claimed that genocide of Russian civilians has been
taking place since 2014, and although human rights violations have taken place in
that area, these crimes have not been specifically targeted at Russian citizens and
are a result of the ongoing conflict in that region since the annexation of Crimea.
Furthermore, Russia’s involvement in Ukraine has not been “strictly confined to the
object of protecting its nationals from injury,” which violates the criteria for this
argument (Waldock, 1952).
International law stipulates that countries may provide military aid during conflicts if
victim states have requested them to. In his speech, Putin states that “the people’s
republics of Donbas have asked Russia for help” (Putin, 2022). The main issue with
this collective self-defence claim is that the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk
People’s Republic have not internationally been recognised as official states and can
therefore not legally request military aid from another country (other than Ukraine),
even though Russia had recognised them as independent states on the 21st of
February.
Conclusion
Russia’s initiation of war on Ukraine earlier this year is illegal, as their actions violate
international law in various ways. No armed attacks had taken place against the
Russian Federation before it invaded Ukraine, which violates Article 51 of the United
Nations Charter. Furthermore, their claims of self-defence are anticipatory in nature
and their actions in Ukraine have not been proportional to the alleged threats posed
to them. The war constitutes an illegal, unprovoked act of aggression against
Ukraine, and violates the prohibition of aggression outlined in Article 2(4) of the
United Nations Charter.
Reference List