What signs of genocide are present in Ukraine in individual examples or at the national level – experts from the CivilMPlus platform spoke about this at a thematic meeting in December 2022.

The head of the Kharkiv Human Rights Group, Evgen Zaharov, noted that in the context of Ukraine, one can accurately speak of an attempted genocide, direct and public incitement to genocide, and committed genocide in some specific territories, in particular, in Mariupol, Bucha and other districts of the Kyiv region, however, it will be more difficult to substantiate and prove such a crime nationwide. The mass forcible removal of Ukrainian orphans by the Russian authorities to Russian territory may be an exception, since this crime already applies to the entire country.

Oleksandr Pavlichenko, head of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, added that in addition to the forcible removal of children, such crimes as torture and murders, which took place in February-March 2022 in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions, have signs of genocide. The victims of these events were local residents who were targeted on the basis of their origin and language.

We would like to add here a view by a renowned historian of Eastern Europe, Timothy Snyder, which he presented his speech at the “International Law against Genocide” conference in Berlin in October 2022. Snyder noted that, by historical standards, there is very clear evidence of genocide in Russia’s actions.

He outlines the following signs of a deliberate intention to commit genocide that took place against Ukraine by the regime of Vladimir Putin:

• denial of the existence of the Ukrainian state
• denial of the existence of the Ukrainian people
• denial that Ukrainians are human
• denial of past acts of genocide
• adherence to the theory of replacement of races and peoples and statements that someone threatens Russia
• overloading the information space with rhetoric and actions designed to divert public attention from the crime of genocide.

The topic of genocide touches, among other things, on the moral aspect of the existing opportunity to prevent the irreparable, with which every representative of the international community inevitably confronts, and primarily those who make political decisions. Therefore, the issue of genocide is paramount in the context of the discussion about supporting Ukraine in resisting military aggression by Russia and about showing solidarity with the Ukrainian people.

Snyder speaks about the risk posed by the existence of a wealth of evidence of genocidal intent on the part of the Russian aggressor. Against the background of war crimes already committed in Ukraine in 2022, an outside observer may expect that even clearer, more obvious evidence is needed to make a decision on whether genocide took place in the context of the war against Ukraine, than the documented facts of violence in Bucha or the forcible removal of Ukrainian children to the Russian Federation.

Evidence gathering and prove of the genocide case will require the combined efforts of both Ukrainian and international experts. The Ukrainian state and, in particular, Ukrainian non-governmental organizations such as Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, Truth Hounds and Center for Civil Liberties that are actively working in the field of documenting war crimes and violations of international norms, need active support from international institutions, states and EU structures.

Impunity creates the prerequisites for the continuation of crimes.