Obstacles and Strategies for International Criminal Support for Ukraine Against Russian Attacks

Abstract

The crimes committed between Ukrainian and Russian forces represent one of the deadliest conflicts and armed hostilities in the past decade. The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has identified the hostilities in Eastern Ukraine as a grave violation of jus cogens norms under international law. This invasion has faced widespread international condemnation, including new sanctions against Russia, which have triggered a financial crisis within the country. From the perspective of international criminal law, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine constitutes a clear violation of the prohibition on the use of force—one of the most fundamental principles of international criminal law that warns states against imposing arbitrary will and unjustifiable sovereignty over others. The most effective international legal response to this aggression is the cooperation of states in sanctioning and condemning Russia, as it has acted contrary to universally accepted international principles. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has once again demonstrated that although there are still obstacles to enforcing the laws governing the use of force, these laws unequivocally establish the illegality of Russia’s actions. At the same time, the invasion reinforces the ongoing central role of the law of armed conflict as a foundational pillar of the contemporary international legal order. Therefore, international law demands a special and insightful form of support—one capable of reinforcing the legal principles that govern state conduct and restraining their arbitrary and self-serving judgments.