Introduction to the Special Section

Abstract

In July 2023, the OSCE Parliamentarian Assembly adopted the Vancouver Declaration during its 30th Session, condemning Russia’s aggression and war crimes in Ukraine and calling for an end to the nuclear threat escalation fuelled by Russia’s invasion of and so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine on the 24th of February 2022. Russian parliamentarians did not participate in the Assembly (OSCE 2023). Ever since, this invasion has been declared a violation of international law by the OSCE, UN, and EU, and a “war of aggression against Ukraine” by the ICC. This Special Section is dedicated to the events unfolding since February of 2022 and the responses by different states, organizations, and actors toward these. The following chapters illustrate and represent different views and perspectives on the war, crisis and conflict in Ukraine from across the OSCE region.

In July 2023, the OSCE Parliamentarian Assembly adopted the Vancouver Declaration during its 30th Session, condemning Russia’s aggression and war crimes in Ukraine and calling for an end to the nuclear threat escalation fuelled by Russia’s invasion of and so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine on the 24th of February 2022. Russian parliamentarians did not participate in the Assembly (OSCE, 2023).

Ever since, this invasion has been declared a violation of international law by the OSCE, UN, and EU, and a “war of aggression against Ukraine” by the ICC. This Special Section is dedicated to the events unfolding since February of 2022 and the responses by different states, organizations, and actors toward these.

Ukraine and the Russian Federation are member states of the OSCE, an organization that launched a war crimes investigation into actions taking place in Ukraine soon after the start of the war. In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague issued warrants of arrest for two individuals in the context of the war in Ukraine, namely Russia's President Vladimir Putin and his Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova. The Chief Prosecutor of the ICC argued that both bear responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population, particularly the abduction of Ukrainian children, and unlawful transfer of people from occupied areas in Eastern Ukraine to Russia (International Criminal Court, 2023).

Before the issuance of the warrant, in February 2023, one year into the war in Ukraine, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly passed an 11-paragraph UN Charter-based resolution with an absolute majority of votes demanding that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdrew all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine and called for a cessation of hostilities” (UN, 2023).

The UN member states called it a “new chapter of history” in which the world faced a choice between two paths, one of solidarity and collective resolution in the face of threats to peace and stability, and one of aggression, war, normalized violations of international law, and collapsed global action.

As opposed to the timid reaction to the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the EU provided a timely and unified condemnation of the “Russian Federation’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine” (EEAS, 2022). The condemnation was followed by concrete actions comprising humanitarian, military, and financial support for Ukraine, and unprecedented sanctions against Russia. Since Russia’s military aggression, millions have sought refuge in the EU and neighbouring countries. Around €668 million has been provided in humanitarian assistance to help civilians affected by the war in Ukraine. An EU Temporary Protection Mechanism was activated to provide displaced persons residing in Ukraine on or before the 24th February 2022, with residency rights, access to the labour market, and access to housing, social welfare, and medical assistance for two years. Around €18 billion worth of macro-financial aid has been allocated for short-term financial relief, immediate needs, and infrastructure rehabilitation. Military equipment, supplies, and military training for the Ukrainian Army were offered under the European Peace Facility (EPF) and the EU Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM). In addition, since February 2022, 11 sanction packages have been imposed to weaken Russia’s economy and deprive the country of critical technologies necessary to wage war (European Commission, 2023). Whereas the idea of “Strategic Autonomy” had already been introduced in the Global Strategy of 2016, the conflict taking place at the borders of Europe—which has often been framed as an attack on European borders—has prompted the EU to become a more self-reliant actor when it comes to its access to energy resources,¹ as well as critical materials and technologies, including in the defence sector.² Yet, despite European and Western countries in general strongly condemning the Russian aggression in Ukraine as unlawful and a clear violation of the UN Charter and International Law,³ leading countries from the Global South, which constitute more than half of the world’s population, have consistently refused to take a side in the conflict.

The Special Section is dedicated to this New Chapter of History. It highlights different countries and international organizations’ reactions and perspectives on the war of aggression against Ukraine from February 2022 until the dates of the writing of these chapters. All chapters reflect the analytical views and expertise of the authors.