The Earth is not dying; it is being killed: Defining ecocide as the part of Russia’s Environmental crimes in Russo-Ukrainian war (2014-present)

Abstract

The Russo‑Ukrainian war, ongoing since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, has resulted in profound ecological devastation alongside human suffering. While international law provides established mechanisms for addressing conventional war crimes, comparable frameworks for identifying, recording, and prosecuting environmental destruction remain fragmented and underdeveloped. Ukraine presents a unique contemporary landscape where warfare has produced extensive ecological harm: widespread mining, craterised agricultural lands, industrial pollution, poisoned rivers, radiological risks linked to nuclear power plant occupations, catastrophic flooding from dam destruction, marine oil spills, mass wildlife losses, and large‑scale greenhouse gas emissions. These developments expose critical gaps in the legal treatment of environmental harm.

This article argues for the reconceptualisation of ecocide as a distinct crime against nature, separate from human‑centred categories of international criminal law. Instead of relying on the difficult task of proving intent, ecocide should be defined through measurable thresholds of ecological damage, with species and ecosystems recognised as victims requiring legal representation. The article proposes codifying ecocide as a standalone category under the Rome Statute, introducing legal asymmetry to ensure aggressor responsibility (estoppel type), and empowering NGOs and specialised environmental bodies to act on behalf of non‑human victims. Drawing on case studies from Russia’s actions in Ukraine, it outlines practical prosecutorial criteria and steps needed to transform ecocide into an actionable international crime.Ukraine War