Is Russian Aggression in Ukraine Ecocide?

Abstract

The article is focused on the environmental consequences of the full-scale Russian aggression in Ukraine and the legality of characterizing them as ecocide. The discussion about ecocide started as a reaction to the environmental transformation during the Vietnam War (1966 –1971). It has shown the strong connection between the war and the crimes against the natural ecosystems and human environment that may have a genocidal effect on certain nations, ethnic or religious groups, etc. Though the legal status of the crime of ecocide is still under the discussion at the international level, the very term ‘ecocide’ moved far beyond jurisprudence and became widespread in media, public opinion, and the different forms of activism. This is a departure point for informing about and estimating the destructive environmental consequences of the Russian aggression in Ukraine at both national and international levels.