Allegations of genocide in Donbas

Extended-protected article
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by BeŻet (talk | contribs) at 09:22, 18 July 2023 (ce). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Since 2014, Russia falsely accused Ukraine of genocide in the Donbas region. Russian propaganda claimed that Ukrainian authorities have undertaken measures amidst the war in Donbas that amount to genocide against Russian speakers of Ukraine. They have been cited by Russian president Vladimir Putin in support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a large-scale escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Following the invasion, Ukraine brought a case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concerning Russia's military activities in Ukraine. During the proceedings of Ukraine v. Russian Federation, the ICJ found no evidence to support the Russian accusation of genocide, and subsequently ordered Russia to "immediately suspend the military operations" of the invasion. Further reports by 30 legal and genocide scholars warned that Russian accusations against Ukraine are part of the "accusation in a mirror" technique, ultimately revealing the Russian incitement to commit genocide against Ukrainians.[1]

Accusations

See also: Casualties of the Russo-Ukrainian War and Language policy in Ukraine

There are numerous Russian-speaking populations living in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine, and the Russian-speaking population accounts for the vast majority in the two regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. These regions however are still ethnically Ukrainian, with ethnic Russians being a minority. At the beginning of 2014, pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych fled to Russia under the pressure of the pro-democracy movement and the Russian proxies declared the independence of the two regions, triggering the war in Donbas. At the same time, the pro-European government in Kyiv began to gradually use the Ukrainian language to replace the dominant position of Russian in Ukraine.[citation needed] Since 2014, the Russian government has repeatedly accused Ukraine of genocide against the locals in Donetsk and Luhansk under its control, persecuting local Russian-speaking residents with threats of violence or death.[2][3]

More than 3,000 civilians died during the fighting in Donbas between 2014 and 2022, but there is no evidence to support the claim that Ukraine committed a genocide of Russian-speaking people or ethnic Russians in Ukraine.[4] Before Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the intensity of the hostilities in the Donbas had been steadily declining since the signing of the Minsk agreements in February 2015.[5]

On February 23, 2022, when tensions on the Russian–Ukrainian border began, 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."[6]

Russian claims were notably described as "lies" by Yevgeniy Prigozhin prior to the Wagner Group rebellion on 23 June 2023. Prigozhin said that, contrary to Putin's accusations, no escalation on the Ukrainian side took place prior to 24 February invasion, that Ukraine had no plans to invade Russia or even Donbass.[7]

War crimes committed by Russian forces during the war in Donbas

During the ongoing conflict, Russian forces and their separatists proxies have committed numerous war crimes, including the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17,[8] the intentional targeting of civilians by Russia in Mariupol,[9] the shelling of civilians in Kramatorsk, attacks on civilian busses in Volnovakha, among others. The pro-Russian forces have also run secret torture prisons in the region.

Reactions

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which has been monitoring the conflict in Ukraine since 2014, said it had not found any evidence to support Russia's allegations.[10][11]

On March 7, 2022, Ukraine filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice, stating that Russia's allegations of genocide were untrue and in no case could provide a legal basis for the invasion and that under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide prosecuted for[clarification needed] Russia's invasion of Ukraine.[12] On March 16, 2022, the International Court of Justice ruled that Russia must "immediately cease its military operations in Ukraine", stating that "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 condemning Putin's "misappropriation and misuse of the term genocide," Melanie O'Brien, president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, told Reuters. Said that "there is absolutely no evidence that a genocide is taking place in Ukraine".[12]

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed Putin's claims as "ridiculous", saying there was no evidence of genocide in eastern Ukraine.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "From 'frozen' conflict to full-scale invasion". Meduza. 6 March 2022. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Sauer, Pjotr (2023-06-23). "Wagner chief accuses Moscow of lying to public about Ukraine". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  8. ^ [https://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/german-intelligence-blames-pro-russian-separatists-for-mh17-downing-a-997972.html
  9. ^ Press, EDITH M. LEDERER Associated (January 26, 2015). "UN: deadly attack on Ukraine city could be war crime". San Diego Union-Tribune.
  10. ^ "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
  11. ^ "OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine", OSCE, archived from the original on 2022-03-29, retrieved 2022-03-30
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ "Ukraine crisis: Vladimir Putin address fact-checked". BBC News. 2022-02-22. Archived from the original on 2022-02-23. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Allegations_of_genocide_in_Donbas&oldid=1165930595"