Starvation as a Weapon: Ukraine's 'one of a kind' war crimes case against Russia

Human rights lawyers, in collaboration with Ukraine’s public prosecutor, are in the process of creating a report on war crimes. This report will be submitted to the international criminal court (ICC) and accuses Russia of deliberately causing starvation during the 18-month-long conflict.

The primary goal is to gather evidence of instances where Russian forces used hunger as a weapon of war. If successful, this could lead to the first-ever prosecution of its kind, potentially indicting the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

Yousuf Khan, a senior lawyer at the law firm Global Rights Compliance, explained that the use of food as a weapon occurred in three phases. The first phase began with the initial invasion when Russian forces besieged Ukrainian cities and disrupted food supplies.

One of the documented incidents took place on 16th March 2022 in Chernihiv. At that time, 20 civilians lost their lives as Russian fragmentation bombs exploded near a supermarket where Ukrainians were waiting in line for bread and food.

Khan also highlighted the siege of Mariupol as a focus of investigation. During this period, food supplies were deliberately cut off, and humanitarian relief routes were either blocked or bombed. This made it incredibly challenging, if not impossible, for starving civilians to escape.

The second phase involved the destruction of essential resources such as food, water, and energy supplies across Ukraine during the conflict. Khan described these actions as targeting objects crucial for the survival of the civilian population. He argued that these were not accidental consequences but deliberate actions with foreseeable outcomes.

Cities like Mykolaiv in the south faced severe water shortages early in the conflict after Russian forces captured the pumping station supplying their water. Residents had to rely on daily deliveries to ensure access to drinking water and sanitation.

The third element of these allegations involves Russian efforts to restrict the export of Ukrainian food. Khan mentioned instances where Russia attacked grain facilities along the Danube and displayed aggression in the Black Sea. Ukrainian officials reported that a significant amount of food, around 270,000 tonnes, was destroyed in late July and early August.

These accusations of Russia intentionally causing starvation in Ukraine carry strong emotional resonance due to the historical context. In 1932-33, millions perished in the Holodomor, an enforced famine orchestrated by Joseph Stalin’s Soviet government.

These allegations have gained renewed attention following a UN Security Council resolution in 2018 that condemned the use of starvation as a weapon of war. Additionally, revisions to the ICC’s Rome Statute in 2019 expanded the range of cases that can be brought before the court.

Global Rights Compliance (GRC) is collaborating with Ukrainian prosecutors on this project until the end of the next year. The plan is to submit a report under Article 15 of the Rome Statute, which allows third parties to provide information on alleged war crimes to the ICC’s prosecutor. The final decision on whether to proceed with a prosecution will rest with the prosecutor in The Hague.