Series
Ukraine Symposium – Territorial Acquisition and Armed Conflict
Soon after the outbreak of its international armed conflict with Ukraine in 2014, Russia annexed Crimea. Eight years later, it also annexed territory around the four Ukrainian oblasts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. In each case, the annexations, which...
The Intelligence Community, Atrocities, and Accountability
(Editor’s note: This article is part of a joint symposium hosted by Just Security and Articles of War. The symposium addresses topics discussed at a workshop held at The George Washington University Law School concerning U.S. cooperation with the International...
Al Hassan Symposium – “Islam Itself Is Not on Trial”: Culture and Religion in Al Hassan
The case of The Prosecutor v. Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud (Al Hassan case) before the International Criminal Court (ICC) is remarkable for many reasons. As with all cases before the Court, the Al Hassan case brings with it a plethora of cultural...
Al Hassan Symposium – Understanding Rebel (Dis)Order in Al Hassan
Editor’s note: This post is part of a joint symposium hosted by the Armed Groups and International Law and Articles of War blogs. This symposium addresses the pending ICC Al Hassan judgment. Katharine Fortin, Sean Watts, and Diletta Marchesi’s introductory post is...
Al Hassan Symposium – Rebel Governance under the Spotlight: the ICC Al Hassan Case
Editor’s note: This post is part of a joint symposium hosted by the Armed Groups and International Law and Articles of War blogs. This symposium addresses the pending ICC Al Hassan judgment. Katharine Fortin, Sean Watts, and Diletta Marchesi’s introductory post is...
Al Hassan Symposium – Petite Sardine or Big Fish? Rebel Governance and the ICC Al Hassan Trial
On 25 May, the Defence finished their closing statements in the Al Hassan case at the International Criminal Court (ICC). The case relates to acts committed during the nine months of 2012 and 2013 that Ansar Dine and Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AD/AQMI)...
Ukraine Symposium – Transfers of POWs to Third States
Introduction On 9 June 2023, media reported that Hungary received eleven Ukrainian Prisoners of War (POWs) from Russia. More than a week later, Reuters reported that three of these persons had been repatriated to Ukraine. The exact circumstances of how the group of...
The United States Should Ratify the Rome Statute
(Editor’s note: This article is part of a joint symposium hosted by Just Security and Articles of War. The symposium addresses topics discussed at a workshop held at The George Washington University Law School concerning U.S. cooperation with the International...
Reducing the Human Cost of Large-Scale Military Operations
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a subject addressed during an expert workshop that the Lieber Institute co-convened alongside Harvard Law School’s Program on International Law and Armed Conflict and the International Committee of the Red Cross, focusing...
Ukraine Symposium – Destruction of the Kakhovka Dam: Disproportionate and Prohibited
Introduction On Tuesday, June 6, 2023, the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam was destroyed causing a major humanitarian and environmental disaster. This post analyses the question of whether this destruction complied with the rules of international humanitarian law (IHL). In...
U.S.-ICC Symposium – U.S. Cooperation with the ICC to Investigate and Prosecute Atrocities in Ukraine: Possibilities and Challenges
(Editor’s note: This article provides an overview of a joint symposium hosted by Just Security and Articles of War. The symposium addresses topics discussed at a workshop held at The George Washington University Law School concerning U.S. cooperation with the...
Large-Scale Combat Operations Symposium – Detention Operations in LSCOs: a U.S. Military Perspective
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a subject addressed during an expert workshop that the Lieber Institute co-convened alongside Harvard Law School’s Program on International Law and Armed Conflict and the International Committee of the Red Cross, focusing...
Large-Scale Combat Operations Symposium – Counterterrorism Thinking and “Large-Scale Combat Operations”
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a subject addressed during an expert workshop that the Lieber Institute co-convened alongside Harvard Law School’s Program on International Law and Armed Conflict and the International Committee of the Red Cross, focusing...
Large-Scale Combat Operations Symposium – Legal Considerations Before and During LSCOs
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a subject addressed during an expert workshop that the Lieber Institute co-convened alongside Harvard Law School’s Program on International Law and Armed Conflict and the International Committee of the Red Cross, focusing...
Large-Scale Combat Operations Symposium – Detention in Non-International Armed Conflict
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a subject addressed during an expert workshop that the Lieber Institute co-convened alongside Harvard Law School’s Program on International Law and Armed Conflict and the International Committee of the Red Cross, focusing...
Large-Scale Combat Operations Symposium – Protection of the Environment During an Occupation
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a subject addressed during an expert workshop that the Lieber Institute co-convened alongside Harvard Law School’s Program on International Law and Armed Conflict and the International Committee of the Red Cross, focusing...
Large-Scale Combat Operations Symposium – Environmental Protection in the Context of LSCOs
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a subject addressed during an expert workshop that the Lieber Institute co-convened alongside Harvard Law School’s Program on International Law and Armed Conflict and the International Committee of the Red Cross, focusing...
Large-Scale Combat Operations Symposium – Introduction
Editor’s note: The views expressed in this post are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the ICRC, HLS PILAC, or other workshop participants. Large-scale combat operations (LSCOs) involve widespread, devastating violence, usually on a vast scale. They...
Ukraine Symposium – Accountability for Cyber War Crimes
In our digitally connected and technology-dependent world, cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure such as electric power grids, water treatment facilities, and industrial control systems have far-reaching safety and security consequences. When these attacks are...
Laws of Yesterday’s Wars Symposium – Make War Sharp Again?
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel White’s edited volumes Laws of Yesterday’s Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Samuel White and Professor Sean Watts’s introductory post. Francis Lieber...
Laws of Yesterday’s Wars Symposium – Islamic Laws of War
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel White’s edited volumes Laws of Yesterday’s Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Samuel White and Professor Sean Watts’s introductory post. Many people...
Laws of Yesterday’s Wars Symposium – The Eastern Native North American “Laws of War”
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel White’s edited volumes Laws of Yesterday’s Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Samuel White and Professor Sean Watts’s introductory post. The Clash of...
Laws of Yesterday’s Wars Symposium – East African Laws of War
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel White’s edited volumes Laws of Yesterday’s Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Samuel White and Professor Sean Watts’s introductory post. In our chapter...
Laws of Yesterday’s Wars Symposium – Indigenous Australian Laws of War
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel White’s edited volumes Laws of Yesterday’s Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Samuel White and Professor Sean Watts’s introductory post. Australia is...
Ukraine Symposium – The Legality of Depleted Uranium Shells and Their Transfer to Ukraine
The decision by the United Kingdom (UK) in March 2023 to transfer depleted uranium tank shells to Ukraine provoked a fierce reaction from senior Russian political and military officials. President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow would “respond accordingly, given...
Ukraine Symposium – A Path Forward for Food Security in Armed Conflict
Climate change, the economic crisis following the Covid-19 pandemic, and armed conflicts throughout the world have aggravated the global food crisis (see e.g., here, p. 6-7 and here). Regarding specifically the latter, in 2018, the UN Security Council issued...
Ukraine Symposium – Russia’s “Re-Education” Camps: Grave Violations Against Children in Armed Conflict
On March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russian president Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation. The warrants allege that Putin...
Ukraine Symposium – Landmines and the War in Ukraine
Human Rights Watch has documented the use of both anti-vehicle and anti-personnel landmines in Ukraine. Following reports that Ukraine is using anti-personnel landmines (APLs) in violation of the Ottawa Convention, the Ukrainian authorities acknowledged this...
Responsible AI Symposium – Prioritizing Humanitarian AI as part of “Responsible AI”
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a subject addressed at an expert workshop conducted by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy focusing on Responsible AI. For a general introduction to this symposium, see Tobias Vestner’s and Professor Sean...
Laws of Yesterday’s Wars Symposium – Reading the Lieber Code as Strategic Lawfare
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel White’s edited volumes Laws of Yesterday’s Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Samuel White and Professor Sean Watts’s introductory post. A book launch...
Ukraine Symposium – “Damn the Torpedoes!”: Naval Mines in the Black Sea
For over a century the immortal battle cry of Rear Admiral Farragut has sounded throughout naval lore – “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead.” As it turns out, what Admiral Farragut was damning are what we would today refer to as naval contact mines. Since that era,...
Ukraine Symposium – The Law of Crowdsourced War: Democratized Supply Chains – Part II
In the first of this two-part post addressing the legal and practical implications of democratized supply chains, I focused on the individual risks that those who engage in these activities incur. I explored whether their actions can amount to direct participation in...
Laws of Yesterday’s Wars Symposium – Dharma and Ancient Indian Military Laws in the Mahābhārata
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a chapter that appears in Samuel White’s edited volumes Laws of Yesterday’s Wars published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Samuel White and Professor Sean Watts’s introductory post. A book launch...
Laws of Yesterday’s Wars Symposium – Introduction
There is a mythology, easily rebuffed, that the laws of war started with the Lieber Code. While General Orders No. 100 guided and shaped the modern law of armed conflict (LOAC) or international humanitarian law (IHL), the regulation and legal mitigation of the horrors...
Lieber Studies POW Volume Symposium – Protecting POWs in Contemporary Conflicts
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a chapter of the Lieber Studies volume Prisoners of War in Contemporary Conflict, which was published 3 March 2023. For a general introduction to this volume, see Professor Mike Schmitt and Major Christopher J....
Ukraine Symposium – Seizure of Russian State Assets: State Immunity and Countermeasures
On 24 February 2023, the United Kingdom (UK) government objected to the Seizure of Russian State Assets and Support for Ukraine Bill in the House of Commons, proposed legislation that would require the government to put measures in place to seize frozen Russian State...
Ukraine Symposium – The Law of Belligerent Occupation
The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has raised important and timely issues regarding the application, implementation, and enforcement of the law of armed conflict. Particularly relevant, is the law of occupation. Unfortunately, this discrete subset of the law of armed...
Ukraine Symposium – Reprisals in International Humanitarian Law
The scale and scope of international humanitarian law (IHL) violations by Russian and associated forces during the conflict in Ukraine are staggering. Yet, Russia has justified some of its operations as retaliatory responses to alleged Ukrainian misdeeds. For...
Lieber Studies POW Volume Symposium – Application of the Third Geneva Convention in Proxy Warfare
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a chapter of the Lieber Studies volume Prisoners of War in Contemporary Conflict, which will be published 3 March 2023. For a general introduction to this volume, see Professor Mike Schmitt and Major Christopher J....
Ukraine Symposium – The Law of Crowdsourced War: Democratized Supply Chains – Part I
“Infantry wins battles, logistics wins wars.” General Pershing’s oft cited maxim of warfare is once again proving itself out in Ukraine. Thankfully, from the outset of Russia’s ill-conceived war of aggression, its progress has been hampered by poorly maintained...
Lieber Studies POW Volume Symposium – “Accompanying the Force” in Modern Armed Conflict
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a chapter of the Lieber Studies volume Prisoners of War in Contemporary Conflict, which will be published 3 March 2023. For a general introduction to this volume, see Professor Mike Schmitt and Major Christopher J....
Lieber Studies POW Volume Symposium – Parole: The Past, Present, and Future
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a chapter of the Lieber Studies volume Prisoners of War in Contemporary Conflict, which will be published 3 March 2023. For a general introduction to this volume, see Professor Mike Schmitt and Major Christopher J....
Ukraine One Year On – Defying the Odds
On 24 February 2023, one year has passed since Russia commenced its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The past year has been filled with acts of aggression, war crimes, and continued atrocities. International humanitarian law (IHL) is one of the most profound and...
Ukraine Symposium – The Wagner Group: Status and Accountability
Since Russia commenced its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Wagner Group has come out of the shadows. Used by the Kremlin as an alternative fighting force since 2014, the private military company (PMC) now operates with a much greater degree of...
Lieber Studies POW Volume Symposium – Military Assimilation and the Third Geneva Convention
Editor's note: The following post highlights a chapter of the Lieber Studies volume Prisoners of War in Contemporary Conflict, which will be published 3 March 2023. For a general introduction to this volume, see Professor Mike Schmitt and Major Christopher J....
Lieber Studies POW Volume Symposium – Prisoners of War in Contemporary Conflict
Following the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) launch of its updated Commentary on the 1949 Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, West Point’s Lieber Institute on Law and Warfare intended to convene an expert-driven workshop...
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Prosecuting War Crimes Symposium – Justice for Victims of [Some] War Crimes Act?
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a subject addressed at a Lieber Institute expert workshop focusing on Prosecuting War Crimes. For a general introduction to this symposium, see Professor Sean Watts and Jennifer Maddocks’s introductory post. Recent years...
Ukraine Symposium – Field-Modified Weapons under the Law of War
Combatants in armed conflict may choose to modify weapons in the field for a variety of reasons. They may modify them to improve their reliability. They may alter them to increase their range or accuracy. Or they may adapt them to novel purposes. During the...
Prosecuting War Crimes Symposium – German Domestic Prosecutorial Experience
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a subject addressed at a Lieber Institute expert workshop focusing on Prosecuting War Crimes. For a general introduction to this symposium, see Professor Sean Watts and Jennifer Maddocks’s introductory post. The...
Ukraine Symposium – The Legal and Practical Challenges of Surrendering to Drones
As part of the Articles of War “Year Ahead” series published earlier this year, Board of Advisor member Professor Gary Solis predicted that several legal issues pertaining to the law of armed conflict (LOAC) will likely see significant development soon, including...
Prosecuting War Crimes Symposium – Evidentiary Challenges
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a subject addressed at a Lieber Institute expert workshop focusing on Prosecuting War Crimes. For a general introduction to this symposium, see Professor Sean Watts and Jennifer Maddocks’s introductory post. The Commission...
Prosecuting War Crimes Symposium – Introduction
Last fall, with the generous support of the 15th Dean of the Academic Board, Brigadier General Shane Reeves, the Lieber Institute for Law and Warfare at West Point partnered with the U.S. State Department Office of Global Criminal Justice and the United States...
Ukraine Symposium – A Wagner Group Fighter in Norway
In the early hours of Friday, January 13th, the alarm went off in a military border guard base in northern Norway. Someone had illegally crossed the border with Russia, and Norwegian conscripts were tasked to find the person. The intruder turned out to be a former...
Ukraine Symposium – The Impact of Sanctions on Humanitarian Aid
The war in Ukraine highlights how humanitarian need and restrictive trade measures typically emerge simultaneously in times of conflict—and how the latter can interfere with the ability of humanitarian organizations to provide principled humanitarian assistance. This...
Ukraine Symposium – Ukraine’s “Suicide Drone Boats” and International Law
Editors’ Note: As part of our 2023 Year Ahead series, our Board of Advisors member Prof. Dr. Wolff Heintschel von Heinegg presciently identified legal issues concerning maritime drones as a subject to watch this year. It did not take long for the field to respond. Our...
Ukraine Symposium – What’s in a Name? Getting it Right for the Naval “Drone” Attack on Sevastopol
Editors’ Note: As part of our 2023 Year Ahead series, our Board of Advisors member Prof. Dr. Wolff Heintschel von Heinegg presciently identified legal issues concerning maritime drones as a subject to watch this year. It did not take long for the field to respond. Our...
Ukraine Symposium – UN Peacekeepers and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant
Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has been under Russian control since March 2022. The international community has repeatedly called for a resolution to a situation that could result in a nuclear disaster because the plant is regularly damaged by shelling. In...
Ukraine Symposium – The “I Want to Live” Project and Technologically-Enabled Surrender
In their ongoing armed conflict, the Russian Federation and Ukraine have engaged in sustained information campaigns using leaflets, social media posts, radio appeals, text messages, and television spots to provoke surrenders. Further leveraging modern communications...
Year in Review – 2022
2022 has been an unprecedented year for the law of armed conflict (LOAC) and for Articles of War. The full-scale international armed conflict that Russia has been waging against Ukraine since 24 February has spawned multiple LOAC issues. Meanwhile, Russia’s flagrant...
Responsible AI Symposium – Responsible AI and Legal Review of Weapons
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a subject addressed at an expert workshop conducted by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy focusing on Responsible AI. For a general introduction to this symposium, see Tobias Vestner’s and Professor Sean...
Responsible AI Symposium – The AI Ethics Principle of Responsibility and LOAC
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a subject addressed at an expert workshop conducted by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy focusing on Responsible AI. For a general introduction to this symposium, see Tobias Vestner’s and Professor Sean...
Ukraine Symposium – The THeMIS Bounty Part II: Stealing Enemy Technology
In Part I of this post, we considered whether the seizure of the Tracked Hybrid Modular Infantry System (THeMIS) by Russian troops on the battlefield of Ukraine, acting on a bounty issued by Russia’s Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST), could be...
Ukraine Symposium – Classification of the Conflict(s)
The threshold questions in any international humanitarian law (IHL) analysis are whether an armed conflict is underway as a matter of law and, if so, what type. They are determinative questions because the existence of an armed conflict is a condition precedent to...
Ukraine Symposium – The THeMIS Bounty Part I: Seizure of Enemy Property
Modern technological advances play a critical role on the battlefield. They increase the efficiency and lethality of attacks, enhance situational awareness, protect friendly forces, and increase the chance of survival for victims of war. Recently, Azerbaijan received...
Ukraine Symposium – Russia’s Allegations of U.S. Biological Warfare in Ukraine – Part II
Part 1 of this post presented the factual dispute regarding Russian allegations of U.S. and Ukrainian collaboration on the development of biological weapons. It also reviewed the rules, obligations, and rights under the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention and indicated...
Responsible AI Symposium – Legal Implications of Bias Mitigation
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a subject addressed at an expert workshop conducted by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy focusing on Responsible AI. For a general introduction to this symposium, see Tobias Vestner’s and Professor Sean...
Ukraine Symposium – Russia’s Allegations of U.S. Biological Warfare in Ukraine – Part I
During its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has accused the United States and Ukraine of collaborating to develop biological weapons in violation of international law. Russia’s claims led to a “formal consultative meeting” in Geneva pursuant to Article V of the Biological...
Responsible AI Symposium – Implications of Emergent Behavior for Ethical AI Principles for Defense
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a subject addressed at an expert workshop conducted by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy focusing on Responsible AI. For a general introduction to this symposium, see Tobias Vestner’s and Professor Sean...
Ukraine Symposium – Further Thoughts on Russia’s Campaign against Ukraine’s Power Infrastructure
On November 23, Russia mounted 70 missile and five drone attacks against Ukraine’s power infrastructure. Cities across the nation, including Kyiv, went dark. Without power, water supply and other systems providing for the population’s basic needs no longer functioned....
Responsible AI Symposium – Translating AI Ethical Principles into Practice: The U.S. DoD Approach to Responsible AI
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a subject addressed at an expert workshop conducted by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy focusing on Responsible AI. For a general introduction to this symposium, see Tobias Vestner’s and Professor Sean...
Responsible AI Symposium – The Nexus between Responsible Military AI and International Law
Editor’s note: The following post highlights a subject addressed at an expert workshop conducted by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy focusing on Responsible AI. For a general introduction to this symposium, see Tobias Vestner’s and Professor Sean...
Responsible AI Symposium – Introduction
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly developed, deployed, and used for defense and military purposes. This offers opportunities yet also poses challenges regarding its governance and regulation. While diplomatic efforts have focused on regulating lethal...
Ukraine Symposium – Reparations for War: What Options for Ukraine?
On 14 November, the UN General Assembly received a resolution calling for international support and cooperation on reparations for Ukraine. For thousands of years, reparations have attempted to settle grievances and secure peace between warring nations. However, the...
Ukraine Symposium – State Responsibility for Non-State Actors’ Conduct
The conflict in Ukraine is international in character, but it nevertheless involves numerous private individuals and groups. These include Ukrainian civilians acting to protect their homeland, foreign fighters, military contractors, and private hackers conducting...
Ukraine Symposium – Using Cellphones to Gather and Transmit Military Information, A Postscript
In a previous post, Major Casey Biggerstaff and I analyzed the legal consequences of Ukrainian civilians using the “ePPO” application (app) to report incoming Russian air strikes. Under Article 51(3) of the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, which...
Ukraine Symposium – Are Civilians Reporting With Cell Phones Directly Participating in Hostilities?
As Russia continues to pummel electric grids and other critical infrastructure from the air, Ukraine is creatively developing methods to defend its skies. One new tool is “ePPO,” a new mobile application (“app”) that Ukrainian civilians can download on their cell...
Ukraine Symposium – Doxing Enemy Soldiers and the Law of War
This post was prepared in academic consultation with Major Inna Zavorotko, a lawyer with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Legal Division. A fuller treatment of wartime doxing, including in the context of non-international armed conflict and human rights law...
Ukraine Symposium – Dirty Bombs and International Humanitarian Law
On October 23, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made separate calls to the Defense Ministers of France, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In them, Shoigu claimed that Ukraine intended to conduct a false-flag operation with a “dirty bomb” in...
Ukraine Symposium – Attacking Power Infrastructure under International Humanitarian Law
Over the past few weeks, the scale of Russian attacks against Ukraine’s power infrastructure has grown dramatically. The Washington Post, for instance, has reported, “[d]ozens of Russian missiles and Iranian-made kamikaze drones have been striking power plants and...
Ukraine Symposium – The Complicity of Iran in Russia’s Aggression and War Crimes in Ukraine
In recent days Russia has attacked Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities using Iranian-made “kamikaze drones” or loitering munitions. While the EU is looking for “concrete evidence” that Iran has sold these weapons to Russia, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry has...
Ukraine Symposium – Russian Preliminary Objections at the ICJ: The Case Must Go On?
As readers of Articles of War may recall, Ukraine instituted proceedings against Russia before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on February 26, 2022, on the basis of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide...
Ukraine Symposium – The Kerch Strait Bridge Attack, Retaliation, and International Law
For some time, Ukrainian forces have threatened to attack the 12-mile Kerch Strait Bridge that links Russia and the Crimean Peninsula. Russia built the bridge following its 2014 seizure and illegal annexation of Crimea. It is of symbolic value for both countries, a...
Ukraine Symposium – Russia’s Forcible Transfer of Children
Earlier last month, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning the forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia. The resolution follows months of reporting that Russian authorities have been separating children from their parents, conducting abductions...
Ukraine Symposium – Illegality of Russia’s Annexations in Ukraine
On 30 September 2022, a ceremony took place in Moscow’s Kremlin in which Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, signed “treaties” with representatives of four entities formed in the territory of Ukraine: the so-called People’s Republics of Donetsk and...
Ukraine Symposium – Targeting Leadership
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently spoke at length in Time magazine about assassination attempts against him. He indicated that Russian paratroopers had approached his location immediately after the invasion and that he heard nearby firefights from his...
Ukraine Symposium – Russian Crimes Against Children
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, there has been evidence that indicates Russian political and military leaders, as well as ordinary members of the military, have committed numerous international crimes, including...
Ukraine Symposium – Data-Rich Battlefields and the Future LOAC
Alongside the physical conflict in Ukraine, the parties are waging a ruthless data war. Russia continues to deploy its formidable "information war machine" to "confuse and disable" while Ukraine and non-State actors such as news organizations, think tanks, and NGOs...
Ukraine Symposium – Deception and the Law of Armed Conflict
As Ukraine continues to defend against Russian invasion, its armed forces are increasingly turning to deception operations to minimize their asymmetrical disadvantages with Russian forces. As part of the campaign to regain control of Kharkiv, for example, Ukraine’s...
Ukraine Symposium – Photos of the Dead
As the death toll in the war between Russia and Ukraine climbs, the issue of how to properly treat the remains of dead soldiers has become a recurring theme (see, e.g., here and here). Some media reports claim, for example, that Ukrainian forces are publishing...
Ukraine Symposium – Protected Zones in International Humanitarian Law
Ongoing hostilities between Russia and Ukraine are placing the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which lies in Russian-occupied territory, at great risk. Damage to the facility could be so catastrophic that U.N. Secretary-General Guterres has warned, “We must tell it...
Ukraine Symposium – The Escalating Military Use of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant
In early March, I argued on these pages that Russian forces’ reported attack on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant likely violated the Additional Protocol I provisions protecting works containing dangerous forces, but probably fell short of the associated war crime....
Ukraine Symposium – Oil Tankers as “Environmental Time Bombs,” or Not
Last month, Russian forces used two anti-ship missiles to target an abandoned cargo tanker adrift in the northern Black Sea. The vessel was loaded with around 600 tons of diesel fuel. An earlier Russian missile airstrike had already disabled the same vessel during the...
Ukraine Symposium – Amnesty International’s Allegations of Ukrainian IHL Violations
On 4 August, Amnesty International released a report criticizing Ukraine for placing civilians at risk “by establishing bases and operating weapons systems in populated residential areas, including in schools and hospitals.” The organization asserted that “such...
Ukraine Symposium – Forced Conscription in the Self-Declared Republics
The Guardian recently reported that men in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine are being forcibly conscripted into the armed forces of the self-declared Donetsk Peoples Republic (DPR) and Luhansk Peoples Republic (LPR). Although it appears this practice is not...
Ukraine Symposium – Forced Civilian Labor in Occupied Territory
On July 27, the Institute for the Study of War reported that “Russian occupation officials are likely leveraging food aid and other humanitarian assistance to force occupied populations to cooperate with and work for Russian occupiers.” According to the report, the...
Ukraine Symposium – Rebel Prosecutions of Foreign Fighters in Ukraine
On 1 July 2022 Russian state media reported that two British nationals captured by the “Donetsk People’s Republic” in eastern Ukraine would be prosecuted for “mercenary activities,” in violation of the laws of Donetsk. This comes a few weeks after two British men and...
Ukraine Symposium – Documentation and Investigation Responses to Serious International Crimes
The armed conflict in Ukraine dates to 2014 when Russia invaded Crimea. Since that time, a number of important documentation and investigation efforts began, both nationally and internationally. These included efforts undertaken by civil society organizations like...
Ukraine Symposium – Lessons from Syria’s Ceasefires
Ceasefires are generally seen by academics, policy makers, and military and political personnel as being humanitarian and positive, or at worst, benign. However, increasing research and first-hand experience shows that, in fact, the consequences of ceasefires are...
Ukraine Symposium – The Attack on the Vasily Bekh and Targeting Logistics Ships
On June 17, Ukrainian forces successfully used a U.S.-supplied Harpoon anti-ship cruise missile to attack and sink a Russian resupply ship that “almost certainly” carried weapons and reinforcements bound for Snake Island in the Black Sea. Two weeks later, on June 30,...
Ukraine Symposium – The Release of Prisoners of War
As announced by Ukrainian authorities on 29 June 2022, the largest exchange of prisoners of war took place since the invasion by the Russian Federation. No fewer than 144 Ukrainian soldiers were reportedly released, including 95 who defended the Azovstal steelworks in...