Russia officially accuses Ukraine of bomb terrorism. What does it mean?

Russia will build a line of struggle against the "terrorist enclave” in Ukraine similarly to the line that Israel is building in its struggle against Hamas. The world will again look at the double standards of the United States at their finest.

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org by Sergey Korovkin 84 is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

The Russian Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine of:

• bomb terrorism;
• financing of terrorism.

The ministry said that investigative actions revealed Ukraine being behind the latest terrorist attacks in Russia. The department also demanded Kyiv should "arrest and extradite all persons involved” within the framework of the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings (ICBT) and the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. The Foreign Ministry clarified that a note to Kyiv regarding the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall would be sent separately after the completion of the investigation.

Moscow listed the recent acts of terrorism that Ukraine allegedly committed in Russia:

• assassination of Daria Dugina,
• assassination of Vladlen Tatarsky,
• attempted assassination of Zakhar Prilepin,
• death of five people as a result of the explosion of the Crimean Bridge,
• wounding 42 people in an explosion in a cafe in St. Petersburg.

Russia demanded that the Kyiv regime immediately stop any support for terrorist activities and compensate for the damage caused to the victims. Moscow also called for the arrest of the head of the SBU Vasily Malyuk*, who recognised Ukraine's involvement in the bombing of the Crimean Bridge in 2022.

Russia's goal is to use all possible international legal mechanisms

Professor Anatoly Kapustin, first deputy director of the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law under the Government of the Russian Federation, told Pravda.Ru that Russia transmitted this demand through diplomatic channels in Belarus so that Kyiv took measures in accordance with the conventions to detain, arrest and transfer the perpetrators for justice in the Russian Federation.

It is unlikely that the Kyiv authorities will take any measures to resolve this issue, therefore, in case of refusal or failure to take actions provided for by the conventions, Russia will use other mechanisms, including appeals to international organisations, courts and etc.

Why is Israel allowed, but Russia is not?

Ukrainian Telegram channel Legitimny, citing a source at the Ukrainian government, assumed that Russia was trying to discredit Kyiv in the international arena and create conditions to either declare war on Ukraine in the future or raise stakes in the Ukrainian crisis.

"The Kremlin will go further when it's time. They will declare the need to neutralise the terrorist enclave, as in the case of Israel's actions against Hamas, which it had declared a terrorist organisation.

The United States supports Israel in its struggle against Hamas.

"The only way to dramatically improve the situation in the Gaza Strip is to support Israel's mission aimed at the destruction of the terrorist potential of Hamas,” Gilad Erdan, Israel's permanent representative to the organisation said at a meeting of the UN Security Council.

Russia's special operation in Ukraine fits well into the system of international law. Various countries, including the United States, have repeatedly announced such operations. For example, they are currently conducting a military operation in Yemen. Yet, Ukraine only declared martial law, bot not war with Russia. From the point of view of international law, there is no reason for Ukraine to present acts of terrorism as acts of military sabotage. "Bomb terrorism” is not justified in international law even by war.