ENCROACHMENTS UPON NATIONAL WEALTH AS A FORM OF GENOCIDE AGAINST THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE

Abstract

The article is devoted to the scientific and legal analysis of encroachments upon Ukraine’s national wealth in the context of armed aggression and the possibility of qualifying them as a form of genocide against the Ukrainian people. The authors proceed from the assumption that national wealth encompasses natural, produced and human capital, and therefore damage to infrastructure and environmental destruction, the appropriation of resources, the undermining of life support systems and the loss of human potential should be assessed not only as economic losses, but as damage to the public good, which is the basis of sovereignty. The study shows the evolution of ideas about national wealth in national legal acts and justifies the need for a modern definition that should include human capital. The article states that human capital is recognised as one of the key elements of national wealth, ensuring long-term economic growth. Approaches to accounting for and assessing losses (including based on international and national assessments) are summarised, and the problem of the lack of uniform parameters for calculating damage to national wealth is highlighted. Using the example of damage to the energy sector and the environment, in particular the consequences of the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, the long-term risks to the population recovery and the economy are highlighted. To substantiate the concept of the study, the authors examined the resolution of the US House of Representatives of 6 January 2025, which emphasises that the actions of the Russian Federation are accompanied by large-scale, systematic and serious crimes against the Ukrainian people. The criminal law characteristics of genocide (Article 442 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) are analysed separately, with an emphasis on special intent (dolus specialis) and the method of «creating living conditions calculated to bring about the physical destruction of the group». It has been substantiated that mass deprivation of access to water, energy, housing, medical care and a safe environment can be an element of genocidal policy only if it is proven that the actions were systematic and aimed specifically at the physical destruction of the group, rather than at its «economic weakening». Proposals for improving legislation have been formulated: adoption of a law on national wealth, creation of a register of losses as a source of evidence, clarification of approaches to assessing damage in conditions of aggression, and formation of a comprehensive architecture for compensation and reparations.