Law of Neutrality
Ukraine Symposium – U.S. Offensive Cyber Operations in Support of Ukraine
Last Wednesday, General Paul Nakasone, Commander of United States Cyber Command and Director of the National Security Agency, opened the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence’s annual CyCon Conference. In his address, General Nakasone discussed the...
Ukraine Symposium – Is the Law of Neutrality Dead?
The 2022 Russia-Ukraine conflict has rekindled the debate about the validity of qualified neutrality during an international armed conflict. The concept is sometimes also referred to as benevolent neutrality. Since Russia’s invasion this year, nearly 40 nations,...
Ukraine Symposium – Neutral State Access to Ukraine’s Food Exports
On May 14, the G7 group of industrialized nations met to devise a plan to ensure the export of Ukrainian grain to avert a global hunger crisis. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has created cascading effects on the region and the world, not least is the impact on food...
Ukraine Symposium – Are We at War?
Last week, allegations that the United States and a number of other NATO nations are providing intelligence to Ukraine that enables attacks against Russian forces continued to surface. Broadly speaking, the reports of intelligence sharing are credible. As Chairman of...
Ukraine Symposium – The Montreux Convention and Turkey’s Impact on Black Sea Operations
Weeks into Russia’s military campaign into Ukraine, the role homeported Black Sea maritime forces are playing is well documented. Reuters recently published a story in which the Russian Defense Minister confirmed that Russia struck Ukraine with Kalibr cruise missiles...
Ukraine Symposium – Cyber Neutrality, Cyber Recruitment, and Cyber Assistance to Ukraine
The war between Russia and Ukraine has given rise to many challenging international humanitarian law (IHL) questions. In this post I will focus on its cyber dimension and consider how certain customary law obligations imposed on belligerents and neutrals under the law...
Ukraine Symposium – Maritime Neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Most of the reporting and commentary regarding the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has so far focused on the land domain of warfare. However, there are significant maritime legal aspects to the conflict. An earlier post in this symposium briefly touched on...
A No-Fly Zone over Ukraine and International Law
In an impassioned address to the U.S. Congress on March 16, Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, asked the United States for additional military assistance, including the establishment of a no-fly zone. This is a terror that Europe has not seen, has not seen for...
Neutrality in the War against Ukraine
This contribution briefly addresses the question of whether and to what extent States that are not parties to the war against Ukraine are bound by the law of neutrality. In particular, are these States obliged to refrain from any assistance to Ukraine, including by...