What's In Blue

Posted Thu 23 Jan 2025
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Arria-formula Meeting on Ukraine

Tomorrow (24 January), Russia will convene an Arria-formula meeting on Ukraine titled “Beyond the Battlefield: Atrocities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Against Civilians”. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia (Russia) is expected to make opening remarks. The anticipated briefers, who will participate via videoconference, are: Maxim Grigoriev, member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation; Thomas Röper, German journalist; and two residents of Selydove, Vladimir Romanenko and Vladimir Pogorelov, who are described in the concept note prepared by Russia as “victim[s] of the Armed Forces of Ukraine”.

The meeting will begin at 10 am EST and take place in Conference Room 6. The meeting, which is expected to be broadcast on UN Web TV, will also be open to representatives of all UN member states and permanent observers, UN entities, civil society organisations and the press.

According to the concept note, tomorrow’s meeting seeks to build on previous Arria-formula meetings it has organised. These include the following meetings:  “IHL violations and other crimes committed by Ukrainian military and militia”, held on 6 May 2022; “Neo-Nazism and radical nationalism: exploring root causes of the crisis in Ukraine”, convened on 11 July 2022; “Crimes of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the nationalist battalions”, held on 13 August 2024; and “Systematic violations of IHL committed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the territory of the Russian Federation”, convened on 25 October 2024.

The concept note states that the meeting is expected to provide an opportunity to “listen to the experts as well as the witnesses and victims of the numerous crimes committed by the militants of the Kyiv regime in Selidovo [a town in the Donetsk region]…including torture and deliberate killing of civilians”. It further says that the meeting intends to discuss the “crucial role” of the International Public Tribunal for the Crimes of Ukrainian neo-Nazis, established by the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation in March 2022, in collecting evidence “to hold the perpetrators of atrocities accountable”.

As in past Arria-formula meetings on Ukraine, Council members are expected to present conflicting narratives on numerous aspects of the conflict in Ukraine at tomorrow’s meeting. Russia’s concept note charges the Ukrainian government with violating the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols. During the meeting, Russia may underscore its allegations that crimes have been committed by Ukrainian soldiers and foreign mercenaries against civilians in Selidovo. It may further recount its claim, outlined in the concept note, that Ukraine has been espousing “an abhorrent reincarnation of the Nazi ideology of racial superiority”.

Several Council members are expected to rebuff this narrative strongly, reaffirm accusations of atrocities carried out by Russian forces in Ukraine and call for greater accountability for its troops’ crimes. Some members may also reiterate the view that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a clear breach of the UN Charter, violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of another country. In addition, they may further accuse Russia of misusing the Arria-formula format to propagate disinformation and distract attention from war crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine for its own political purposes. They may allude to international investigations that have documented violations of international law by Russian forces in Ukraine.

Russia, in response, is likely to deny allegations of atrocities carried out by its troops in Ukraine and accuse Western countries of supporting a “Russophobic agenda”.

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