Ukrainian parliament declared Russian military crimes genocide

Russia's “Actions aim to systematically and coherently wipe out the Ukrainian people, to deprive them of the right to self-determination and independent development”, the text said, which was accepted by a majority of 363 votes in the 450-member parliament.

Therefore, it is necessary immediately to recognise actions committed by the Russian Armed Forces during the aggression that began on February 24th 2022 as genocide against Ukrainian people”, the text says.

The resolution text also calls on the United Nations, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the European Parliament, Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSBE) and NATO, as well as governments and parliaments around the world to declare genocide against the people of Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden and several other foreign leaders have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of committing genocide in Ukraine, which the official Kiev welcomed, but such statements, according to some lawyers, stem more from political rhetoric than legally proven facts.

“The genocide sentence has an exact legal definition, however, it is widely used by political leaders and activists because of its power to promote debate and fuel public opinion, said William Schabas, a professor of international law at Midlesex University in London.

Otherwise, French President Emmanuel Macron explained the decision not to pronounce the word genocide because he believes that “verbal escalation will not help Ukraine and may even draw the West to war”.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also refused to pronounce the term genocide and instead spoke of war crimes.