The Russian Occupation of Melitopol, Ukraine

Since February 24, 2022, Ukraine has defended not only its sovereign territory, national identity, and democratic values but international law and the security of Europe. Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine disregards moral and legal norms of warfare. The army of any state reflects the moral, legal, technological, and intellectual caliber of its society. By now, most of the world has seen that the so-called “second best army of the world” is composed largely of poorly trained draftees, mercenaries, criminals, looters, rapists, and thieves who have violated all of the tenants of the international laws of war,1 in particular, the Geneva and Hague Conventions on the Laws of Land War.