Russia feels attacked: they accuse Ukraine of aggression, but there is no legal basis

Disgruntled Russians seek their help on social networks and the Telegram app confirm, Legal The events in the Kursk region are aggression by Ukraine against Russia.

This means that Russia can use the Collective Security Treaty Organization mechanism to ask Belarus to participate in special military operations (the so-called attack on Ukraine) while also asking allies in the Kursk region for help.

Although the Russian authorities and the Russian president are in no hurry to acknowledge the fact of Ukraine’s invasion of Russian territory, the interpretation of Ukrainian actions as an invasion does not conform to legal realities and international norms.

Reuters/Scanpix Photo/Ukrainian soldiers

Invasion and occupation

In early August, Ukraine unexpectedly invaded Russian territory and launched an attack, becoming the largest attack on Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war in February 2022.

For the first time since World War II, foreign troops entered internationally recognized Russian territory and were stationed there until August 19. Under control 92 settlements.

Not only that— Establishment and military administration unit – Military Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the Kursk Region.

All these actions of the Ukrainian army clearly meet the definition of occupation as stipulated in the 1899 Hague Convention. Of the Laws and Customs of War on Land and the 1907 Hague Convention Due to naval bombing during the war Definitions given in Article 42.

“A territory is considered occupied if it is actually under the control of enemy forces.

The occupation includes only those territories where the government is established and can carry out its activities.”

This norm is crucial in defining the concept of “occupation” in modern international law.

In turn, an occupation regime presupposes a series of obligations that the occupying power has towards the civilian population, which first establish In the Geneva Convention.

There is occupation, there is no invasion

However, the fact of occupation (and the introduction of an occupying regime) is by no means equivalent to the concept of “aggression”.

The concept of aggression was first defined in the 1933 Special Treaty on the Definition of Aggression, which was intended to concretize the 1928 definition of aggression. Mr. Briandeau-Kellogg The principle of prohibiting aggressive wars was established. The most well-known Convention of 3 July 1933 Defining Aggressionconsisting of the Soviet Union and its eight neighboring countries – five European countries and three Asian countries.

Basically, the concept of content attack will be discussed later. In 1974, the United Nations General Assembly resolution on the definition of aggressionwhich aims to outline guidelines for the Security Council for establishing the facts of aggression.

Although the resolution, as a source of international law, is not binding in itself, it contains certain provisions Reflecting customary international lawthey are also guided by the International Court of Justice of the United Nations.

Under Article 2 of the resolution, the use of armed force by a State in violation of the UN Charter constitutes a prima facie act of aggression, while Article 3 provides a non-exhaustive list of acts of aggression.

Article 2 of the resolution provides:

“The first use of force by a State in violation of the Charter is Preliminary evidence evidence of an act of aggression, although the Security Council may conclude, under the Charter, that a finding of an act of aggression was not reasonable in light of other relevant circumstances, including the fact that the act in question or its consequences were not sufficiently serious.”

Photo from Zelensky’s Telegram channel/The Bucha massacre that shocked the world

It is not just the fact of using force or seizing another country’s territory that matters – the aggressor is simply the one who first uses force without the permission of the UN Security Council.

Russia was the first to launch an armed invasion of Ukraine, a fact that was recorded by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/ES-11/1with a clear title: “Aggression against Ukraine”.

Among other things, the document expressed “regret for the aggression committed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine in violation of Article 2, paragraph 4, of the Charter.”

Based on these legal definitions and the facts recognized by the United Nations, it is clear that it was the Russian Federation that first used force in violation of the United Nations Charter.

It was she who was designated as the aggressor by the United Nations General Assembly, while Ukraine was and still is the victim.

Therefore, the invasion of the Kursk region of Russia and the occupation of parts of it cannot be considered an act of aggression, as these actions were taken during the war against Ukraine and aimed at defending its sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders.

From a legal point of view, the Russian Federation is by no means a victim of this situation, and the actions of the Kursk Region do not give it any new rights.

Reuters/Scanpix/Russian President Vladimir Putin

15 minutes Conclusion: Lying. Calling the invasion of Ukraine an aggression is a direct distortion of the current norms of international law.

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