NEW FINDINGS: RUSSIAN AERIAL ATTACKS AMOUNT TO EXTERMINATION AND PERSECUTION - Join Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center and Strategic Litigation Project, together with International Partnership for Human Rights and the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School, for a hybrid panel discussion on new findings and policy implications surrounding Russian aerial attacks against Ukraine over the last three years.

Despite ongoing peace talks, Russian aerial attacks on Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure remain as deadly and devastating as ever. This continued brutality requires reassessment of both the situation on the ground and the legal and political tools available to Ukraine and its allies to put an end to Russian atrocities.

In a newly published report, “Airstrikes and Atrocities: A Legal Assessment of Russia’s Aerial Campaign in Ukraine,” the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School and International Partnership for Human Rights analyze a series of Russian aerial attacks over the last three years. The authors conclude that these attacks amount not only to war crimes but also reach the level of crimes against humanity of extermination and persecution. These acts are part of a broader Russian strategy of total war, aimed at destroying Ukrainian identity, breaking Ukrainians’ resistance, and forcing their surrender to Russia. The authors and invited experts will discuss the main findings of the report, as well as the wider implications of Russia’s total war strategy for the peace process, regional security, and the protection of civilians in contemporary armed conflicts.

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 06/25/2025