The trial will take years, and bringing the top Russian authorities to justice is unlikely. But there is enough evidence that Vladimir Putin and his entourage deny the very existence of the Ukrainian people, say lawyers interviewed by Voice of America..

The respondents started from the definition of the term “genocide” as the deliberate destruction of people in connection with their national, ethnic, racial or religious affiliation..

To prove genocide is to prove the intent with which the crime was committed. Therefore, lawyers admit: it is difficult to investigate such a case.. But in the case of Ukraine, the statements of the Russian authorities and Vladimir Putin, in particular, point to the real goals of this war..

“He created a narrative that justifies Russian aggression, which includes a refusal to admit that there are such people, Ukrainians, who have the right to exist and self-determination,” says Daniel Rotenberg, professor, co-director of the Center for the Study of Future Wars.

Evidence of intent can also be statements published by state media.. For example, an article in the pro-Kremlin news agency RIA Novosti titled “What Russia Should Do with Ukraine”.

“I read this article translated into English, and it relays the idea of \u200b\u200bgenocide. I don't have any doubt. As a researcher, I look at it and understand: yes, this is precisely about the fact that Ukrainians do not have the right to exist as a nation, ”says Ernesto Verdeya from the Institute for the Study of Genocide (USA).

Intelligence data and actions of the Russian army in the occupied territories are also taken into account..

“Preparation of lists of members of the country’s leadership, journalists, military to be destroyed is the destruction of the intelligence of the nation, its decapitation of the nation. This is the preparation for genocide - to destroy first those who can resist. Also Russification: you see how in Melitopol they are trying to transfer children to Russian-language education,” says Olesya Stasyuk, director of the National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide in Kyiv.

The Evidence Gathering and Litigation Process Can Take Years. Experts believe that the International Criminal Court can consider Russia's crimes against Ukraine, but it is better to create a separate tribunal.

“An international tribunal is needed for the whole world to unite, and we have finally condemned the Russian Federation for the crimes that it has committed and continues to commit. If evil is not punished, then it will become much stronger, being sure that no retribution for what he has done awaits him, ”emphasizes Olesya Stasyuk.

At the same time, one should not expect Vladimir Putin in the dock, Evgeny Finkel, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, is sure: “I don’t think that The Hague or Nuremberg will ever happen to him. As long as he is alive and in power, we are unlikely to be able to achieve legal punishment for the ruling elite. Gather evidence - yes. Judging someone from the middle and lower levels who actually killed is possible.”.

And Ernesto Verdea adds that the main snag is that it is impossible to try suspects without their presence: “None of these courts can detain someone. That is, the person must be detained and then brought to trial in some way.. For example, Milosevic was arrested first in his own country after the change of power.”.

But this does not mean that it is pointless to collect evidence of genocide against Ukrainians.. Firstly, all this data immediately becomes a detailed documented part of history.. Secondly, to start an investigation now, at an early stage of the war, means to make the crimes widely publicized.. In addition, as history shows, the dictators of the second half of the 20th century did end up being punished for their crimes..

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Recall that US President Biden has twice called the Russian invasion of Ukraine a genocide..

“Yes, I called it genocide, because it is becoming clearer and clearer that Putin is simply trying to wipe out the very idea of \u200b\u200b\u200b\u200bthe existence of Ukrainians from the face of the earth,” he said..

French President Macron, on the contrary, does not use such a term: “The word genocide has a specific meaning, and lawyers, not politicians, should define it,” he believes..

Experts in the field of international law note: there are more and more legal signs of Russian genocide against the Ukrainian people.

“Genocide” is a hybrid word that goes back to two languages:

the Greek “genos” - “genus, origin” and the Latin “caedere” - “to kill”. At the end of World War II, this definition was created by the Polish lawyer of Jewish origin Rafal Lemkin. Nazis killed 49 members of his family during the Holocaust. “According to international law, genocide is the deliberate destruction of a group of people - in whole or in part, in accordance with their national, ethnic, racial or religious affiliation,” explains Ernesto Verdea from the Institute for the Study of Genocide (USA).