Humanitarian Catastrophe in Mariupol during the Russian Siege (2022)

Abstract

Objective. Drawing on the principles and norms of international humanitarian law, this study characterizes the humanitarian catastrophe in Mariupol during the Russian siege in 2022, and analyses the actions of the parties to the armed conflict from the perspective of compliance with international legal norms on the protection of the civilian population in wartime. Methodology. The research is grounded in both general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, systems approach, content analysis) and specialized methods (formal-legal and comparative-legal analysis). Scientific novelty. Based on materials from international organizations, human rights reports, and eyewitness testimonies, the features of a humanitarian catastrophe are systematized, which makes it possible to view the siege of Mariupol not as isolated violations of international humanitarian law, but as a Russian strategy of warfare against the Ukrainian people. Conclusions. The situation in the city of Mariupol during the Russian siege in 2022, by its nature, scale, and consequences, meets the international legal criteria of a humanitarian catastrophe, as it was accompanied by massive and systematic violations of the civilian population’s rights. The deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure, obstruction of the evacuation of civilians, and blocking of the delivery of humanitarian assistance constitute serious violations of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and its Additional Protocols, which are of an imperative nature and binding on all parties to an armed conflict. The actions of Russian forces contradicted the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, in particular the principles of distinction between civilian objects and military objectives, proportionality in the use of force, and the obligation to take precautions to minimize harm to the civilian population, which resulted in large-scale human losses. The generalization of the factual circumstances and their comparison with the norms of international law provide grounds to assert that the actions of Russian forces in Mariupol contain the elements of the gravest international crimes, including the crime of aggression, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. At the same time, taking into account the nature and strategy of the siege, which consisted of deliberate, clearly coordinated, and systematic actions aimed at destroying the conditions of existence of the protected group of the population of the city of Mariupol, these actions may be regarded as containing elements of genocide.