TITLE:
International Criminal Responsibility for Alleged Genocide: Insights from the Ukraine Conflict from Bucha to Mariupol
AUTHORS:
Rakiba Nabi, Faijul Islam
KEYWORDS:
Genocide, War Crimes, ICC, Accountability, Ukraine, International Law
JOURNAL NAME:
Beijing Law Review,
Vol.17 No.3,
September
9,
2026
ABSTRACT: The Ukraine crisis has become a test case for modern international criminal law, raising essential inquiries on the coherence, legality, and political impartiality of global accountability frameworks. The genocides committed in Bucha, Mariupol, Irpin, Kharkiv and other Ukrainian territories from Russia’s 2022 invasion represent the most severe violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. Set against claims of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, this paper critically analyses the developing framework of international criminal liability in the context of the Ukraine situation. It examines the functions and interactions of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Court of Justice (ICJ), UN Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry, European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), domestic prosecutions based on universal jurisdiction, and ad hoc investigative mechanisms, assessing whether their collective efforts represent normative consolidation or reveal structural imbalances within the international legal framework. The ICC’s investigation under Article 15 of the Rome Statute provided the issuance of arrest warrants against senior Russian officials, giving an innovative assertion of global criminal justice even against powerful non-member states. Unfortunately, the ICJ’s provisional measures in Ukraine v. Russian Federation undermine the binding commitment to prevent genocide and challenge Russia’s violations of the Genocide Convention. Concurrently, UN-mandated fact-finding bodies continue to collect and preserve evidence for future criminal trials while European states such as Germany, Austria, Poland and Lithuania have started domestic prosecutions under universal jurisdiction including impunity gaps when international arrest becomes politically motivated. Nonetheless, major obstacles have arisen due to Russia’s non-cooperation in the criminal trial. But the ICC has failed to arrest high-level suspects, the Security Council has paralyzed, and the complex documentation of crimes in active conflict zones is incomplete. Despite these challenges, the coordinated efforts of international and domestic mechanisms represent one of the strongest contemporary reiterations to atrocity crimes in Europe. The bloody way from Bucha to Mariupol reveals the conflict between legal idealism and political reality, contending that the future validity of international criminal justice relies on rectifying structural biases, enhancing enforcement mechanisms, and guaranteeing fair application across geopolitical contexts. This paper argues that the violation in Ukraine not only challenges existing systems but also transforms the normative framework of accountability. Finally, the paper sees the crisis in Ukraine as both a trigger for change and a reflection of the unresolved problems at the heart of the international criminal justice system.