The text was approved by a large majority of Ukrainian MPs. For example, 363 of the 450 MPs voted in favor of the resolution. Ukraine is now calling on the international community to follow suit. The United Nations, the European Parliament and the parliamentary assemblies of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and NATO, among others, are being asked to consider the actions of the Russian army also as genocide. The appeal is also addressed to all governments and parliaments worldwide.
On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden accused the Russian military of genocide. He referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin as a dictator who declares war and commits genocide. The Kremlin called Biden’s statements “unacceptable”.
However, several experts doubt whether the events in Ukraine fall within the legal definition of genocide. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, among others, therefore refuse to use that term. “But I don’t think we should minimize that. It is a terrible war and war crimes are committed,” Scholz stressed earlier.