Is Russia committing genocide in Ukraine?

[TheReckoning]

Is it?

[RGM2609]

No, and the usage of the term is way too lax these days. That doesn't mean that what it's doing isn't morally abhorrent and that it mustn't be defeated and stopped at all costs.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Yes, undeniably. The Russian army's documented behavior in the areas it occupied is impossible to explain without assuming an intent to systematically erase Ukrainian identity.

[KaiserDave]

It’s borderline, but erring towards yes, especially due to the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

[dead0man]

not currently, but only due to Ukrainians fighting back.  They, like Hama, are certainly trying.

[OSR stands with Israel]

No, I would say its more like 19th century imperialism than a genocide. Does not make the invasion any less bad though as we don't want to return the world to how things were in the 19th century

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

It's very likely that while what we're seeing in the areas under Ukrainian control is a simple war, what's happening in Russian-occupied territories is absolutely genocide.

[SnowLabrador]

Absolutely.

[RINO Tom]

It’s borderline, but erring towards yes, especially due to the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

I am somewhere around this opinion, but possibly leaning ever-so-slightly toward no.  I am very hesitant to throw around the term "genocide," as I think it should retain a strikingly serious connotation that should not apply to too many different types of situations.  I will also freely admit to not being an expert on the Russia/Ukraine war, but from what I have seen there have more been a number of more generic war crimes than specific genocide.  I am sympathetic to the argument that trying to erase (and/or deny) Ukrainian ethnic identity starts going down that path, but I am not sure the English "genocided" the Irish through forced assimilation, so it is a delicate determination of where to start using the term.

I will say, though, that we might uncover elements of (more clear) genocide in the years to come ... pretty common pattern in history.

[Lumine]

Strictly speaking, I think "ethnic cleansing" is a more accurate definition than "genocide" if we're operating under the notion that a genocide as a term means a very specific set of circumstances, and shouldn't be thrown lightly.

Morally speaking? There's not much of a difference - if there is one at all - with the kind of vile acts that have been inflicted on Ukraine as a nation and Ukrainians as an ethnic group.

[Cokeland Saxton]

The term "genocide" is thrown around way too loosely by the left these days

[Associate Justice PiT]

No, I would say its more like 19th century imperialism than a genocide. Does not make the invasion any less bad though as we don't want to return the world to how things were in the 19th century

     I think this is the key here. If this is a genocide then every war of conquest can be considered a genocide, which cheapens the term to a dangerous extent when it should be reserved for a certain class of exceedingly gruesome actions. I voted no because I don't think Russia's view of this conflict is consistent with the essentially 20th century worldview that one must adopt to see it as a genocide in the proper sense.

[Mr. Smith]

No, I would say its more like 19th century imperialism than a genocide. Does not make the invasion any less bad though as we don't want to return the world to how things were in the 19th century

     I think this is the key here. If this is a genocide then every war of conquest can be considered a genocide, which cheapens the term to a dangerous extent when it should be reserved for a certain class of exceedingly gruesome actions. I voted no because I don't think Russia's view of this conflict is consistent with the essentially 20th century worldview that one must adopt to see it as a genocide in the proper sense.

Not yet. But I'd say Lumine said it best if given the option for something besides yes or no for genocide.  The trajectory of what's going on and Putin's stated reason to Mr. Carlson still tip it to genocide in my eyes on a binary.

[HillGoose]

Yes, which is why the formation of a Coalition of the Willing to enforce regime change in Moscow is probably a necessary step - Putin and his cronies will never stop until they're apprehended and forced to face justice.

[LAKISYLVANIA]

Imagine thinking this is a genocide while what is happening in Gaza is not.

On the question specifically, i lean towards no but i can see the case for yes to some extent.

[Antonio the Sixth]

People who are answering some form of "no but he wants to" / "no but he would if he had the ability" seem to forget that he has had the ability to in a good chunk of the country that he currently occupies or previously occupied. And Russia's policies in these territories were textbook genocide. So what, are we going to say it doesn't count as a "genocide in Ukraine" unless it's happening in all of Ukraine? That's just ridiculous.