Is Russia's invasion of Ukraine justified?

Russia's invasion of Ukraine involves contested justification claims — I'll gather the legal and factual context to answer you.

Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine is justified in the view of the Russian government, but is widely considered unjustified and illegal under international law by the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, and most international legal scholars.

1. Russia's stated justifications

On 23-24 February 2022, President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" in Ukraine. He claimed that:

•Russian military intervention was necessary to "protect people who have been subjected to abuse and genocide" by the Ukrainian government and to "protect Russia and our people".

•The Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics — which Russia had recognized as independent states two days before — had requested assistance in their fight against the Ukrainian government.

•The stated aims included "the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine".

Other stated or implied reasons cited by Moscow and reported in analyses include:

•Protecting Russian-speaking minorities in the Donbas

•Opposition to NATO's eastward expansion and Ukraine's potential integration into Western alliances, which Russia framed as a security threat

•Claims that Ukraine was committing genocide in the Donbas and historical claims that Ukraine is part of Russia's historical and cultural sphere

Scholars described Putin's allegations of genocide and comparison of Ukraine to a Nazi state as baseless.

2. Assessment under international law

Since the beginning, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been described as violating international law (including the Charter of the United Nations).

The core legal framework is the UN Charter:

•Article 2(4) provides that all members "shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state". The full text is quoted as: “All Members of the United Nations shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations.”

•The full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022 constitutes a direct violation of the UN Charter, breaching Article 2(4).

•It also conspicuously violated the UN Charter's prohibition against aggression, where Article 2(4) declares member states shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State.

•Other Charter provisions cited as violated include Article 2(3) — obligation to settle disputes peacefully — and Article 1(1) — maintaining international peace and security.

•The only two exceptions enshrined in the UN Charter are self-defense and authorization by the Security Council.

Legal experts have rejected Russia's legal arguments:

a) Self-defense under Article 51: Russia has argued its use of force is lawful under Article 51, which preserves rights to defend against "an armed attack" and to engage in "collective self-defense" for the Donetsk and Luhansk republics. Experts criticized this argument because Ukraine has not threatened or attacked any other nation, and even if it had, Russia could not invoke collective self-defense because these regions are not recognized as separate states under international law.

b) Humanitarian intervention / genocide: Experts have rejected Russia's argument that its invasion is justified on humanitarian grounds to protect Russian-speakers in the Donbas. In any event, Russia's humanitarian justifications are widely perceived as a pretext, and are unsubstantiated by any evidence that Ukraine has committed acts against Russians in Donetsk and Luhansk that could amount to genocide.

c) Comparisons to Western interventions: Russia has also tried to justify its invasion by comparing its actions to interventions by the United States and its allies in Kosovo, Iraq, Libya, and Syria. These comparisons have been dismissed as irrelevant because one illegal act does not make a different act legal.

Because it violates the UN Charter and is more than a minor border incursion, Russia's military intervention was qualified by legal experts as a crime of aggression under Article 8bis(1) of the Rome Statute.

The invasion also violated other international agreements Russia is a party to, including:

•The 1975 Helsinki Final Act, in which the USSR promised not to violate the "territorial integrity" of other signees

•The 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in which Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom agreed "to respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine"

3. Response at the United Nations

•Russia vetoed the UN Security Council resolution that would have called for Russia to immediately cease its attack on Ukraine.

•The UN General Assembly then acted in an emergency special session. United Nations General Assembly Resolution ES-11/1, adopted on 2 March 2022, deplored Russia's invasion of Ukraine and demanded a full withdrawal of Russian forces and a reversal of its decision to recognise the self-declared People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.

•The resolution was sponsored by 96 countries, and passed with 141 voting in favour, 5 against, and 35 abstentions. The voting summary was 141 voted for, 5 voted against, 35 abstained, 12 absent.

•The UN General Assembly, in Resolutions ES-11/1 and ES-11/4, recognized Russia's actions as aggression.

Citations (3)

1wikipedia.orgEncyclopedias and referencequality 0.83
Legality of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Backs: “Russia's stated justifications. On 23-24 February 2022, President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" in Ukraine. He claimed that: Russian military intervention was necessary to "protect people who have been subjected to abuse and genocide" by the Ukrainian government and to "protect Russia and our…”
2aggressionarchive.comLow provenance
UN Charter and Russia’s Violations of International Law
Backs: “Article 2(4) provides that all members "shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state". The full text is quoted as: “All Members of the United Nations shall refrain in their international relations from the threat…”
3wikipedia.orgEncyclopedias and referencequality 0.83
United Nations General Assembly Resolution ES-11/1
Backs: “Russia vetoed the UN Security Council resolution that would have called for Russia to immediately cease its attack on Ukraine. The UN General Assembly then acted in an emergency special session. United Nations General Assembly Resolution ES-11/1, adopted on 2 March 2022, deplored Russia's invasion of Ukraine and…”