50
votes
Accepted
Is it politically acceptable to incentivize soldiers of another country to desert?
It has been done all the time: e.g., via dropping propaganda leaflets behind the enemy lines, as was done during both world wars.
In modern days (e.g., in Israel confrontation with Palestinians) it is ...
- 6,084
48
votes
Accepted
Isn't sending weapons to Ukraine an escalation?
First, weapons can be delivered through Poland:
Reznikov (Ukrainian Defense Minister), in his video, tried to provide an answer. “You may deliver it to Poland,” he told potential donors. “From there, ...
36
votes
Accepted
Under what law can the U.S. arrest International Criminal Court (ICC) judges over war crimes probe?
The ICC has approximately no legal status under the US Constitution. In particular:
It is not an Article III (federal) court because it was not established by Congress.
It is not treated as a foreign ...
- 7,079
27
votes
Does the Geneva Convention with respect to prisoners of war apply to mercenaries?
No. Per the Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949:
A mercenary shall not have the right to be a combatant or a prisoner of war.
However, not all the people mentioned in ...
- 11.8k
25
votes
Is it politically acceptable to incentivize soldiers of another country to desert?
Most countries take the position that it is a crime for their own soldiers to defect and that they will not punish soldiers from another country's military. There is no international tribunal that ...
- 51.3k
23
votes
Why are Stinger (surface to air missiles) and Javelin (anti-tank missiles) not considered escalatory in war theater of Ukraine?
You can't easily attack another country's territory using only man-portable missiles and infantry.
movement speed is foot speed. If you have a localized breakthrough, exploitation speed is... foot ...
21
votes
How could it happen that Ukrainian soldiers did not try to defend against the invasion?
When the Russian soldiers first deployed in the Crimea, Turchynov feared that any provocation would lead to a full scale war, a war he'd have very little chance of winning. He compared the situation ...
- 9,502
20
votes
Isn't sending weapons to Ukraine an escalation?
so sending weapons to Ukraine isn't breaking 'international law' (I know it's irrelevant, but can be used as an argument from the Russian side)
In general, sending weapons isn't prohibited under ...
- 102k
17
votes
Accepted
Does international regulation forbid a country to kill children in a conflict if the other part uses them as human shields?
No, it does not forbid it.
The Geneva Convention establish the standards of international law for the humanitarian treatment of war
Geneva Convention IV Article 28 of the 1949 Geneva Convention ...
- 13.7k
17
votes
Isn't sending weapons to Ukraine an escalation?
In general what international law there is is made up of "norms" (i.e. the standards by which countries with enough hard or soft power expect other countries to behave by) and treaties (...
- 20.2k
16
votes
Accepted
What are the steps towards officially recognizing a Cold War?
A Cold War is not a declared war. Possibly not even an undeclared war. It is not really a term in customary international law. So there are two things required:
Somebody coins a memorable phrase and ...
- 77.9k
16
votes
Is it illegal for Russia to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy?
An unprovoked war of aggression is against international law. Russia claims to have justification, most of the world disagrees.
Apparently, Russia still denies that there is a war between Russia and ...
- 77.9k
15
votes
Why are Stinger (surface to air missiles) and Javelin (anti-tank missiles) not considered escalatory in war theater of Ukraine?
TLDR: Because, quite literally, it is not escalatory.
The US began supplying Ukraine with significant amounts of military equipment beginning with the "Little Green Men" incursion that began ...
- 1,976
14
votes
Accepted
Why don't leaders of countries fight instead of armies in a war?
The reason leaders don't fight is because the first nation to not fight by these rules will win, and whoever doesn't form an army will lose their stuff.
Angela Merkel decides that she's the rightful ...
- 7,959
14
votes
Accepted
What characterizes an act of war as "war crime?"
The most common definition of what is and what is not acceptable in an armed conflict is The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907. It was later ammended by the Geneva Conventions.
It is a document much ...
- 66.7k
13
votes
Accepted
Would killing ISIS journalists be considered a war crime? If so, could ISIS use the ICC?
ISIS is not a member of the ICC, therefore it can't appeal to it.
Intentionally killing journalists would be a war crime. However, if journalists are killed by an attack aimed at a legitimate target, ...
- 2,588
13
votes
Under what law can the U.S. arrest International Criminal Court (ICC) judges over war crimes probe?
Impersonation of a foreign official.
Because ICC is not recognized as a court, if any officer of ICC claims to be be an officer of a court, they may be guilty of 18 U.S.C. § 915 impersonating an ...
- 6,749
13
votes
Is Putin a valid military target in this war? What about Moscow based senior political and governmental figures with roles related to the war effort?
Russia is currently at war with Ukraine. An attack against not-directly-military targets in Russia (from bridges and power plants to aircraft factories and government offices) is legal if it follows ...
- 77.9k
13
votes
Why doesn't Russia assassinate Zelenskyy with a rocket?
Because they can't. Zelensky spends most of his time in a bunker, presumably ex-Soviet, so proof against any missile attack short of a nuke (and possibly even that). He does venture above ground from ...
- 18.1k
12
votes
Legality of attacking an occupier by third-party forces within partially-occupied state
What Is International Law?
Your assumptions that someone is or isn't "illegally occupying" territory, or that something is or is not illegal under international law, isn't really how ...
- 51.3k
12
votes
Accepted
Are car bombs considered a conventional weapon under international law?
Yes
The treaty you are asking about is actually the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons and not the Geneva Convention.
The second part of that ...
- 23.3k
12
votes
Is it politically acceptable to incentivize soldiers of another country to desert?
Russia actually did exactly that during its takeover of Crimea: it incentivized soldiers of Ukraine stationed there to desert (change allegiance) on the premise of continuing being enlisted, now with ...
- 4,212
11
votes
What is the purpose of the siege of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol by the Russian invaders?
What is the purpose of the siege the Ukrainian city of Mariupol by the Russian invaders?
It is less about the siege itself and more about moving past the siege and taking Mariupol. The siege is a ...
- 2,692
10
votes
How could it happen that Ukrainian soldiers did not try to defend against the invasion?
The Ukranians have not surrendered. There is currently a stand-off between Russia and the Ukraine, which is attempting to be solved diplomatically.
Klitschko told The Associated Press that "of ...
- 2,633
10
votes
Accepted
What is the purpose of the siege of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol by the Russian invaders?
Vladimir Putin seeks to take control of Ukraine and overthrow its
democratically elected government.
(BBC)
More specifically, with respect to this particular city:
Russia-backed forces have ...
- 51.3k
9
votes
How could it happen that Ukrainian soldiers did not try to defend against the invasion?
There are several reasons why Ukrainian soldiers didn't fight in Crimea
1) A historical and cultural bond with the Russians
2) A lack of sufficient support from the local population
3) An ...
- 221
9
votes
What is the purpose of the siege of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol by the Russian invaders?
Mariupol is an important Ukrainian port traditionally used in shipping of Donbass exports.
It is located on the land claimed by DNR and have been a constant source of worries to them since Ukraine ...
- 4,212
8
votes
Why don't leaders of countries fight instead of armies in a war?
Because the leaders aren't interested in dying for their goals.
No-one would give up their stuff if they did
It's not as if the people on the ground would leave their homes, after e.g. Putin punching ...
- 4,058
8
votes
Accepted
Minimizing civilian casualties during the siege of Mariupol?
Only real military infrastructure can be bombed without warning.
When civilian infrastructure is being targeted due to its utilization by the military, or if civilians are nearby, let the civilians ...
- 1,762
8
votes
What arguments do Russia-critics offer to support their view that Russia is committing genocide?
In the most general sense, "genocide" is destroying a people.
The convention which specifies what that means tries to list various ways of how that may be accomplished.
To quote the United ...
- 4,191
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