False accusations of genocide in Donbas have been made by

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

against

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

since 2014. Russian propaganda has claimed that Ukrainian authorities have undertaken measures amidst the

War in Donbas War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

that amount to genocide against the Russian speakers of Ukraine. Russian president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

cited the phenomenon as one of his many charges in support of the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, a large-scale escalation of the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Rev ...

. Following the invasion, Ukraine brought a case before the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

(ICJ) concerning Russia's military activities in Ukraine. During the proceedings of ''Ukraine v. Russian Federation'', the ICJ found no evidence to support the Russian accusation of genocide, and subsequently ordered Russia to "immediately suspend the military operations" of the invasion. Further reports by 30 legal and genocide scholars warned that Russian accusations against Ukraine are part of the "

accusation in a mirror Accusation in a mirror (AiM), mirror politics, mirror propaganda, mirror image propaganda, or mirror argument is a hate-speech incitement technique. AiM refers to falsely imputing to one's adversaries the intentions that one has for oneself and/ ...

" technique, ultimately revealing the Russian incitement to commit genocide against Ukrainians.

Accusations

There are a large number of Russian-speaking populations living in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine, and the Russian-speaking population accounts for the vast majority in the two regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. At the beginning of 2014, pro-Russian President Yanukovych fled to Russia under the pressure of the pro-democracy movement and the two states declared their independence, triggering the

war in Donbas War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. At the same time, the pro-European government in Kyiv began to gradually use Ukrainian to replace the dominant position of Russian in Ukraine. Since 2014, the Russian government has repeatedly accused Ukraine of genocide against the locals in Donetsk and Luhansk under its control, persecuting local Russian-speaking residents with threats of violence or death. More than 3,000 civilians died during the fighting in Donbas between 2014 and 2022, but there is no evidence to support the claim that Ukraine committed a genocide of Russian-speaking people or ethnic

Russians in Ukraine Russians are the largest ethnic minority in Ukraine. This community forms the largest single Russian community outside of Russia in the world. In the 2001 Ukrainian census, 8,334,100 identified as ethnic Russians (17.3% of the population of ...

. Before Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the intensity of the hostilities in the Donbas had been steadily declining since the signing of the

Minsk agreements The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part. The first, known ...

in February 2015. On February 23, 2022, when tensions on the Russian–Ukrainian border began, Ukraine called on the international community to stop Russia's plans of aggression at the United Nations General Assembly, and Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations, Nebenja, said: "In view of the blatant genocide and the most important The human rights of the people of the world - the right to life are violated, and our country cannot remain indifferent to the fate of the 4 million people of the Donbass."

War crimes committed by Russian forces during the War in Donbas

During the ongoing conflict, Russian forces and their separatists proxies have committed numerous war crimes, including the downing of

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian forces on 17 July 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. Cont ...

, the intentional targeting of civilians by Russia in

Mariupol Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast ( Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russia ...

, the shelling of civilians in

Kramatorsk Kramatorsk ( uk, Краматорськ, translit=Kramatorsk ) is a city and the administrative centre of Kramatorsk Raion in the northern portion of Donetsk Oblast, in eastern Ukraine. Prior to 2020, Kramatorsk was a city of oblast significan ...

, attacks on civilian busses in Volnovakha, among others. The pro-Russian forces have also run secret torture prisons in the region.

Reactions

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which has been monitoring the conflict in Ukraine since 2014, said it had not found any evidence to support Russia's allegations. On March 7, 2022, Ukraine filed a complaint with the

, stating that Russia's allegations of genocide were untrue and in no case could provide a legal basis for the invasion and that under the 1948

Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG), or the Genocide Convention, is an international treaty that criminalizes genocide and obligates state parties to pursue the enforcement of its prohibition. It was ...

prosecuted for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. On March 16, 2022, the International Court of Justice ruled that Russia must "immediately cease its military operations in Ukraine", stating that "Ukraine has a reasonable right not to accept military action by the Russian Federation to prevent and punish the so-called genocide in Ukraine." The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) issued a statement condemning Putin's "misappropriation and misuse of the term genocide," Melanie O'Brien, president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, told Reuters. Said that "there is absolutely no evidence that a genocide is taking place in Ukraine". German Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed Putin's claims as "ridiculous", saying there was no evidence of genocide in eastern Ukraine.

References

{{2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, War crimes Fake news Prelude to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Disinformation operations Incitement to genocide

Accusations

War crimes committed by Russian forces during the War in Donbas

Reactions

See also

References