These past few days Vladimir Putin’s invasion forces have attacked the largest nuclear power plant in Europe located at Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. This unnecessary attack put not only the citizens of Ukraine in grave danger, but also all of Europe. The attack caused a fire which has been extinguished, yet the Russian attack on the plant is a war crime, a violation of the laws of armed conflict. 

The laws of armed conflict (LOAC), a subset of international humanitarian law, protect individuals found on the battlefield and also regulate the means and methods of warfare such as the type of weapons that can be used against appropriate targets. There are four main principles that govern the use of force in international and non-international armed conflicts. They are:  military necessity, unnecessary suffering, discrimination, and proportionality. In an armed conflict, such as the one in the Ukraine, one cannot target a person or object unless it is militarily necessary to do so, using a weapons system that is calculated to avoid unnecessary suffering, ensuring that the weapon is properly aimed at the target and is a proportional response to the threat. If you target without a militarily necessary reason and do so indiscriminately you are committing a war crime. So far the Russian forces involved in the invasion appear to be doing just that.

Certain weapons systems have been banned outright by the international community, such as biological and chemical weapons, cluster munitions, as well as the use of poison. Their use is a war crime. Additionally, combatants cannot intentionally target civilians. Civilians under LOAC are especially to be protected. Also, the targeting of objects that harm civilians’ ability to live/survive in a conflict, such as livestock, water systems, and electricity to hospitals, are war crimes as well.

The intentional attack by the Russians on a nuclear power plant in the Ukraine violates the targeting principle that it is prohibited to target an object that, when hit or destroyed, unleashes uncontrollable elements that will harm civilians. If the attack by the Russians on the plant released radiation, it would spread without control throughout the region harming civilians and combatants alike. That is a war crime. The targeting of a dam is another example of unleashing uncontrollable forces harming civilians as the water rushing down a valley destroys towns and villages. The water cannot be controlled.

The former Soviet, and now the Russian army, have never followed the law that governs armed conflict. Their military doctrine is to overwhelm with indiscriminate fire power against anything that confronts them. There is no consideration of protected persons by the Russian armed forces, such as civilians, and history shows us they have little regard for prisoners of war or the sick and wounded. The armed forces taking part in the invasion are not even trained in the laws of armed conflict. As a signatory to the Geneva Conventions that make up a part of LOAC, Russia is obligated to follow these rules. Not doing so may open them up to future investigations and prosecution. 

For now, the world should continue to sanction Putin and his henchmen, bring political pressure to bear on his actions, isolate the Russian Federation, and begin to document and investigate the allegations of war crimes committed by the invasion forces. It is important to note that there is no statute of limitations on international crimes. Patience, focus, and perseverance should be the international community’s watchwords as we confront Russian aggression. Someday Putin and those who are perpetrating his international crimes will be held accountable.

David M. Crane is the Founding Chief Prosecutor, UN Special Court for Sierra Leone; a Distinguished Scholar in Residence, Syracuse University College of Law; and the Founder of Global Accountability Network.

Suggested citation: David M. Crane, Releasing Uncontrollable Forces in Ukraine, JURIST – Academic Commentary, March 5, 2022, https://www.jurist.org/commentary/2022/03/david-crane-ukraine-russia-nuclear-plant/.

This article was prepared for publication by Katherine Gemmingen, Commentary Co-Managing Editor. Please direct any questions or comments to her at commentary@jurist.org