RESPONSIBILITY FOR VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW DURING RUSSIAN MILITARY AGGRESSION: THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT AS A MECHANISM FOR HOLDING RUSSIA TO ACCOUNTABILITY

Abstract

The article examines responsibility for violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) in the context of Russian military aggression against Ukraine. Special attention is paid to war crimes committed by Russian forces, such as the killing of civilians, torture, deportation and destruction of civilian infrastructure, which constitute serious violations of IHL. Forms of responsibility are highlighted, including individual, collective and state responsibility for such crimes.

The article also analyzes Ukraineʼs cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC), especially after the ratification of the Rome Statute, which made it possible to prosecute war criminals at the international level. The national mechanisms of interaction with the International Criminal Court within the framework of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine were separately considered, and ways of improving the legislation were proposed to increase the efficiency of investigations and bring the guilty to justice.

The article also examines the challenges of ensuring the effectiveness of the norms of international humanitarian law during modern armed conflicts. The provisions of the Geneva Conventions, which regulate the protection of victims of conflicts, are analyzed, with an emphasis on their application in the conditions of the war in Ukraine. The national legislative acts adopted during the martial law, aimed at strengthening the legal protection of the civilian population and victims of aggression, were separately studied.