From Bucha to Moscow, Holding Russia Accountable – Keeping an Eye on the Geopolitical Ball

Keeping an Eye on the Geopolitical Ball, brought to you by Jamie Shea, Senior Fellow of Friends of Europe and former NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General, provides a weekly overview of the current and emerging crises or threats in security and defence.

Using his past experience as an ex-NATO insider, his in-depth knowledge and insights gained throughout the years, Jamie casts his eye on the state of geopolitics in Europe and across the globe. He brings an independent view and essential insight into a range of conflicts and emerging threats on our shores and further afield.

Keeping an Eye on the Geopolitical Ball is essential viewing for anyone who wants to keep track of events as they unfold.

This week on Keeping an Eye on the Geopolitical Ball, Jamie Shea, Senior Fellow at Friends of Europe, explains the principle of the distinction between civilians and military combatants during conflict. He argues that, throughout the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army has violated this principle by bombarding hospitals and starving, raping and executing civilians in places such as Bucha. Shea encourages the West to firmly hold the Russian regime accountable for these violations of humanitarian law. Suggested ways to do so would include immediately setting up a special international tribunal to investigate Russian war crimes and freezing the transfer of military technologies, while also ensuring that Ukrainian soldiers behave according to the same international standards of armed conflicts.