PEJ Handbook on the Use of Prohibited Weapons

Project Expedite Justice – Ukraine prepared this handbook as part of the implementation of its project Accessing Accountability Avenues for Ukraine. The handbook supports PEJ’s ongoing efforts to advance accountability for war crimes, including pillage, that Russia has committed in the ongoing invasion and occupation. The handbook analyzes documented instances of Russia’s use of weapons prohibited under international law in Ukraine, including mines, booby traps, chemical weapons, and other poisonous or similar devices. It then considers how these violations may contribute to or constitute the commission of war crimes, with particular attention to the agricultural sector.
 

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, PEJ has actively supported stakeholders in the agricultural sector with documentation and analysis of violations committed by Russian forces. In addition to the unlawful appropriation of grain and other agricultural products that PEJ has documented in its public reports, Russia has also used prohibited weapons in residential areas and on agricultural land. This conduct has resulted in extensive physical injuries and damage to infrastructure, private property, and farm land. Current assessments indicate that clearing mined farm land may require at least a decade.
 

Ukrainian authorities and relevant international actors should work to enhance the potential for accountability for Russia’s use of prohibited weapons, including against Ukraine’s agricultural sector. These recommendations aim to provide the foundation for judicial and reparative processes, which set a precedent for stronger global accountability.