Understanding the Illegality of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Even for scholars of international politics, the UN system can be mind-boggling and complicated. The focus of this piece will be to provide two services to the reader. Primarily, this exploration intends to clear the fog of confusion that usually clusters around those references to the legality of certain action; explaining how the Russian invasion of Ukraine has breached international law in an easily comprehensible manner. Therefore, this examination seeks to offer an explanatory source to the reader which can be used to aid one’s grasp of the legality of the conflict as the crisis unfolds. As such, it aims to clarify why many consider the Russian invasion of Ukraine to be illegitimate by reference to those commonly cited documents of the international legal order itself. In order to achieve its dual function, this investigation will centre its focus on the legality of Russia’s invasion by reference to the UN Charter, the UN’s principal legal document, alongside a brief note on the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances. In this, each article of the UN Charter and the Budapest Memorandum that has been widely cited to have been breached will be unpacked and contextualised. This will permit the reader a grasp of how and why these particular authoritative fragments have a role to play in the present conflict and the diplomacy that comprises its shadow.