Russia's Genocide against Ukraine: Justice for the aggressor as a way to sustainable Peace
Justice for Russia’s actions is the most effective way to defeat the enemy's imperial ambitions. This is why recognizing the aggression as genocide is a top priority for our diplomacy.
In January 2025, the 119th United States Congress reintroduced a resolution calling for the recognition of Russia's actions against Ukraine as genocide. Oksana Markarova, Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, announced this on her Facebook page. The document states that Russia's actions during the war in Ukraine meet the criteria outlined in Article II of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The resolution includes the following points:
- condemnation of acts of genocide and other violations of international law committed by Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine;
- call on the United States, in cooperation with NATO and EU allies, to take steps to support the Ukrainian government to prevent further acts of Russian genocide against the Ukrainian people;
- support for tribunals and international criminal investigations to bring Russian political leaders and military personnel to justice for aggressive war, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
The resolution should be adopted as soon as possible. There are already eight countries, that have adopted political resolutions recognising Russia's aggression against Ukraine as genocide, including the Baltic States, Poland, the Czech Republic, Republic of Ireland and Canada.
Canada's leadership of the G7 and the upcoming summit are key opportunities to prioritize this issue. Before taking on its leadership role, the current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reassured President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Canada's strong support and solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
The G7 leaders have previously stated that they will continue to support Ukraine until the end of the war. Through the principles of justice and solidarity, we believe that Canada will make genocide recognition one of its key priorities at the next summit. Ukraine will not become a victim of forced capitulation. Russia must be held accountable for its crimes, and a united position of the international community can make the aggressor face the consequences for its actions.
There is no other war in the world today that poses such a threat to the world's future as the Russian aggression against Ukraine, supported by the countries of the Axis of Evil.
Russia continues to deliberately destroy the Ukrainian nation, committing actual genocide. This applies not only to Putin's policy, but also to the entire Russian society, which supports or tacitly endorses the aggression.
Russia keeps using the "red lines" set by our Western partners to its advantage. Every second of this illusory restraint costs Ukraine the highest price – human lives. Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine in 2014, Moscovia has been seeking to destroy the Ukrainian state and the entire Ukrainian nation as a specific ethno-cultural community. Their criminal actions are an attempt to erase the value of Ukrainian existence, and undermine our national identity and historical heritage.
To date, the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine has opened 170,090 cases of crimes related to Russian aggression. 13,729 civilians were officially registered as killed, including 596 children. Almost 20,000 internally displaced Ukrainian children were identified, 4,057 criminal proceedings related to war crimes against children were registered. Also, 331 cases of sexual violence against both women and men were registered. Russia destroyed and damaged 158,434 residential buildings, 3,739 educational and children's institutions, 908 medical facilities, 643 cultural facilities, 204 religious facilities, and 8,233 energy and communications facilities. This is only part of the strategy of destroying and dissolving the Ukrainian people and culture for Moscow's so-called leaders. It is quite naive to expect that, having captured the whole of Ukraine, the Kremlin devil, feeling nostalgic for the "greatness" of the Soviet Union, will stop and refuse to become known in history as the one who brought the Baltic states and the countries of the former "socialist camp" back into the circle of Russian influence.
Back in September 2022, Ukrainian paramedic Yulia Payevska spoke at a hearing in the US Congress demanding to recognise the russian aggression as genocide. At that time, the ICUV team, including Olena Halushka and Alyona Getmanchuk, were also in Washington, actively supporting this initiative.
Later in November, Andriy Sibiga addressed an appeal to the US Congress, providing legal arguments that Russia's actions constitute an act of genocide against Ukraine.
A war of annihilation, genocide – all of this is happening in the heart of Europe in the 21st century
Ukraine is once again experiencing deja vu in its tragic history: Lenin's repressions in 1921-1923, the genocide of 1932-1933 (the Holodomor) led by Stalin, and today, Putin's war that continues since 2014.
Russia is pursuing a deliberate and systematic policy of mass crimes against Ukrainians. Achieving justice and recognition of Russia's aggression may take years or even decades. However, the international legal system has already begun to act: charges of war crimes related to the illegal deportation of children have been brought against the Kremlin leader and Commissioner for children. Senior military commanders have been formally accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity for targeting civilian energy infrastructure.
Since 2022, efforts to establish a special tribunal for the crime of Russian aggression have been actively underway. More than 40 nations are working together on this initiative.
Moscow's criminal actions have one main goal – to destroy the possibility of Ukrainians' existence as a specific ethnic group. The reason is quite obvious – Ukrainian identity challenges Moscow’s imperial ambitions, undermines its claims to Ukraine’s territory and population, and shatters the historical myth that Russian identity is inseparable from Ukrainian heritage.
The Ukraine Freedom Support Act became a key step in U.S. policy, clearly aiming to help Ukraine restore its sovereignty and territorial integrity. This goal is pursued through sanctions, diplomatic efforts, support for Ukrainians, and military aid.
However, we should accept the fact that real efforts to achieve this goal have been catastrophically insufficient. Russian aggression has not been stopped. The price of war for Ukraine has become extremely high. The entire country has become a war zone.
Ukraine needs more active action to stop this aggression. In particular, the creation of an air defence shield over western Ukraine. It is necessary to increase restrictions on Russian oil and gas. This also offers a great opportunity for the US to increase its exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the European market.
All frozen sovereign Russian assets should be confiscated and directed towards supporting Ukraine's military defense. Ukraine must receive a clear prospect of NATO membership.
A crime that destroys the future of the Ukrainian nation
The unlawful transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia is one of the worst crimes of this war. These actions include numerous violations of their rights and international law provisions relating to their civil status, education and identity.
Clearly, the actions of the Russian authorities, which are not limited to the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia and occupied territories, preliminary comply with all the elements s of the crime of genocide, as defined in the 1948 UN Convention and the Rome Statute.
Forced adoption programmes for Ukrainian children who have been deported are key components of this crime aimed at turning them into new citizens of Russia. This is not the first time that Russia uses this policy, as it was already applied in the USSR and the Russian Empire. Since 2014, Putin started his brutal policy on children from Crimea and temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine – during the 8 years of the hybrid war before the full-scale invasion, almost a whole generation of Ukrainian children who consider themselves Russians has grown up, and some have already, unfortunately, died for the new "homeland".
More than 20,000 children were forcibly deported to Russia and Belarus. Every day, they suffer both physical and psychological violence.
Ukrainian MP and President of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees Oleksii Goncharenko announced, that on 25 January 2024 The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has adopted a resolution on the situation of children in Ukraine, calling on the member states of the Council of Europe to recognize the deportation of Ukrainian children by russia as genocide.
On 17 March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova for the war crimes of unlawful transfer of Ukrainian children. It was a powerful step and a real triumph for international justice. However, almost 2 years have passed, and the situation has not changed. Even without considering the fact that executing these warrants is practically impossible, there has been no expansion of new suspects, nor has there been a requalification of the charges to transform them from mere suspicions to formal accusations for the actions committed.
Possible developments of this case at the ICC and other related issues are thoroughly outlined in the study "Anniversary of the arrest warrants for Putin and Lvova-Belova for deportation of Ukrainian children: What did it bring and what happens next?" prepared by the International Center for Ukrainian Victory (ICUV) in collaboration with our partners.
Nevertheless, now that Ukraine has become an official participant in the Rome Statute, there is hope that the investigation could move forward and we believe that judgement day for Putin will come very soon.