The Legality of the Ukraine War in 2022: An Examination of International Law and Justifications
Journal: Beijing Law Review
Year: 2025

This paper discusses the illegality of the 2022 war in Ukraine and argues that this illegality matters. It considers three legal justifications that have been offered, to varying degrees, formally and informally, for the war. These justifications are self-defense (and its more contentious variants, anticipatory self-defense and preventative war), collective security under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, and, finally, the doctrine of humanitarian intervention. However, none of t