Abstract
This post examines select war crimes recognized in international law that may be relevant to the conflict in Ukraine. We focus on offenses adopted as grave breaches under the Geneva Conventions system, since both Russia and Ukraine have ratified these treaties and many states have incorporated their war crimes provisions into their national penal codes. We offer preliminary points worth legal emphasis for each with a view toward informing States’ obligations and prosecutors’ charging decisions. We necessarily rely on open-source research; new facts may emerge in connection with the many investigations underway that would alter the potential war crimes characterization of many of these incidents.