'Weaponisation of food': War crimes dossier to ICC accuses Russia for 'starving' Ukrainians

Human rights lawyers working alongside Ukraine’s public prosecutor are building a case alleging Russia of causing starvation during the ongoing war.

The case to be presented at the International Criminal Court (ICC), could lead to the first-ever prosecution of its kind, potentially indicting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“The weaponisation of food has taken place in three phases.” It began with the initial invasion when Russian forces besieged Ukrainian cities, cutting off food supplies,” Yousuf Khan, a senior lawyer from Global Rights Compliance, was reported as saying by the Guardian.

One horrifying incident they’ve documented involves the death of 20 civilians in Chernihiv on March 16, 2022. Russian bombs exploded near a supermarket where Ukrainians were waiting for food.

The lawyers are also looking into the siege of Mariupol, where food supplies were cut off, and aid corridors were blocked or bombed, making it nearly impossible for starving people to escape.

In the second phase, they highlight the destruction of food, water, and energy supplies across Ukraine during the conflict. Khan described these acts as “crimes of intent” because they targeted things essential for civilian survival. For instance, Russian forces took control of the water supply station in Mykolaiv, leaving residents reliant on daily water deliveries.

The third part of their case involves Russia’s attempts to limit Ukrainian food exports. Khan pointed out that Russia attacked grain facilities on the Danube and created problems in the Black Sea, causing the destruction of substantial food stocks in July and August.

These allegations of using starvation as a weapon of war have a painful historical connection, particularly the memory of the Holodomor in 1932-33 when millions died in a famine caused by the Soviet government.

The renewed focus on these allegations comes after a UN Security Council resolution in 2018 condemning the use of starvation as a weapon of war and changes to the ICC’s rules in 2019, allowing for more types of cases.

Global Rights Compliance (GRC) is collaborating with Ukrainian prosecutors until the end of next year to gather evidence. They intend to submit it under Article 15 of the Rome Statute, which lets third parties provide information on war crimes to the ICC’s prosecutor. The final decision rests with the prosecutor in The Hague.

The lawyers are also trying to identify the individuals responsible, potentially calling for the indictment of President Putin, just as the ICC issued an arrest warrant for his role in the “unlawful deportation” of Ukrainian children to Russia during the conflict. Khan argues that Putin could be held responsible for these actions directly, through others, or for failing to control Russian military personnel or others accused.