Ukraine

In the early hours of the 24th of February, Russia launched a large-scale attack against Ukraine. By the following day, Russian forces were closing in on Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. A large part of these forces penetrated the Ukrainian territory not through the separatist regions in the east or Crimea in the south, but through the north, coming from the territory of Belarus. The Ukrainian President has since rejected coming to Minsk for peace talks because of its lack of neutrality. As states are rolling out sanctions against Russia, they are starting to extend sanctions to Belarus. In addition, some states are explicitly including Belarus in their accusations against Russia for violating international law. This begs the question of what responsibility Belarus bears for its role in the Russian attack against Ukraine. By permitting the use of its territory, Belarus could be complicit in Russia’s unlawful use of force and could itself be committing an act of aggression. The Russian Attack as a Violation of International Law The legal…