Ukraine

UN chief António Guterres on Tuesday added his voice to the growing international calls for a war crimes investigation into the killing of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.

NATO has activated chemical and nuclear "defense elements" to protect member states. Leaders of the Western military alliance have also demanded that China withhold support for Russia.

A Russian-drafted call for aid access and civilian protection in Ukraine that does not mention Moscow’s role in the crisis failed at the UN Security Council on Wednesday (23 March), with only Russia and China voting yes and the remaining 13 members abstaining.

With the war in Ukraine raging, and no sign of an exit in view, a Polish peacekeeping proposal is unlikely to gather steam. But it is not too early for policymakers to start thinking about what tasks a future peace operation might undertake.

On 16 March 2022, the International Court of Justice, which has its seat in The Hague, satisfied Ukraine's request, demanding form Russia's to stop war of aggression against Ukraine. This order is binding under international law.

By a vote of 13 to two, with Vice-President Kirill Gevorgian of Russia and Judge Xue Hanqin of China dissenting, the ICJ ruled that Russia “shall immediately suspend the military operations that it commenced on 24 February.”

In an unprecedented step, the Council of Europe has expelled Russia from the pan-European human rights body in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

EU leaders on Friday (11 March) pledged to double financing for military aid to Ukraine with a proposal for an extra €500m.

International condemnation of Moscow's war on Ukraine has reached far beyond Europe, as evidenced by
overwhelming support for a United Nations (UN) resolution condemning the invasion. Several countries have gone further and joined the EU in adopting sanctions against Russia or sending military aid to Ukraine.

New technologies are changing the means and methods of warfare, presenting a host of new threats and challenges for humanitarian actors. This is particularly true in and around Ukraine.