Abstract
Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine beginning on 24 February 2022 is simultaneously a practical attack on the international law prohibiting the inter-state use of force. The deepening inhumanity of the ongoing aggression is partly attributable to the constraints on Ukraine and third states to fully exercise their individual and collective right of self-defence to repel Russian forces for fear of Russia’s use of nuclear force against Ukraine or other intervening states that could spark an annihilating nuclear exchange. Yet the Russian President’s address on 24 February 2022 made numerous accusations about the prospects of geographical expansion of the nuclear-armed NATO together with its nuclear military infrastructure. This article examines the legality of both Russia’s and NATO states’ nuclear deterrence postures in verbal, physical and political forms in the context of the war on Ukraine through the lens of the prohibition against the threat of force in international relations and reflects on the important goal furthered by this prohibition: to practice tolerance and live together in peace.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Journal of International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict |
Publication status | Published - 7 Oct 2022 |