'These are not crimes committed in the heat of battle by poorly trained troops. They are leadership crimes, committed in full knowledge of the applicable law and the potential for suffering.'
, the first of which works in Mr. Putin’s favour, the second of which does not. Unless Mr. Putin’s actions satisfy both tests, they are illegal.
However, there are reasons why the international law of armed conflict is often called international humanitarian law as well: The second test that Mr. Putin’s actions must meet is a requirement of proportionality, between the pursuit of military advantage and the protection of civilians.incidental loss of civilian life
Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations also understands the rules. Recently, Vassily Nebenzia justified Russia’s actions in words that precisely, and therefore deliberately, satisfied the first test for determining legality: “We are conducting strikes with precision weapons against energy and other infrastructure, which is used for the purpose of military supplies to Ukrainian units.” Mr. Nebenzia ignored the second test of proportionality, presumably because he knew that it could not be met.
The International Criminal Court already has a team of investigators in Ukraine, and they are not interested in prosecuting front-line soldiers – those potential war crimes will be left to domestic courts.
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