The armed conflict caused by the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine has the general and specific characteristics, as defined by the provisions of international law and national legislation. The epistemology of the general characteristics of the armed conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine confirms existing approaches to the characterisation of armed conflict, primarily in international law, however, it does not, in essence, provide grounds for identifying the specific features that are significant for the doctrinal diagnosis of its nature, commencement, course and conclusion. In fact, every armed conflict requires a specific approach to establishing not only its military and political aspects, but also its legal aspects, which is reflected in the forecasting of the end of the armed conflict and in the legal classification of the actions of the parties to the armed conflict. The legal aspects of ending the armed conflict are reflected in the possibility of concluding an international agreement, such as a peace treaty, and are set out in the text of such an international document. The ending of the armed conflict with the Russian Federation is of particular significance for Ukraine. The consequences for Ukraine of the armed conflict caused by the Russian Federation’s aggression are currently characterised by by heavy human losses, the destruction of critical infrastructure and the energy system, the occupation of territory, and significant economic losses. Instead, the Russian Federation’s stance since the start of the armed conflict and throughout its course has been characterised by hybrid actions, which were cloaked in ideological rhetoric and empty statements about its own security; and, from 24 February 2022, by the need to carry out the so-called “denazification” and “demilitarisation” of Ukraine. At the same time, there is no mention in the Russian Federation’s official political and legal doctrines of the fact that an armed conflict with Ukraine is taking place, nor of the aim of the aggression against Ukraine – the destruction of Ukrainian statehood. The legal aspects of ending the armed conflict caused by the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine depend on the military and political components of the conflict’s course and are determined by the economic component, which is decisive in the aggressor’s ability to continue the armed conflict. The aim of this article is to examine and characterise the legal aspects of ending the armed conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, which are complex and systematic in nature and are based on the norms and provisions of international law, on precedents existing in global practice, and take into account the norms and provisions of national legislation regarding the possible legal settlement of the armed conflict. It is important that the ending of the armed conflict caused by the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine is based on security guarantees for the victim of that aggression, namely Ukraine, legal certainty regarding the Russian Federation’s actions concerning the objectives of the aggression and their achievement, legal safeguards for an international legal consensus on resolving territorial issues arising from the armed conflict, as well as addressing questions of accountability for international crimes committed during the armed aggression.

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Journal articles

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Encyclopaedias

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Newspaper articles

6. Petrenko Roman, Lavrov zaiavyv, shcho viinu ne mozhna zakinchyty bez “harantii bezpeky dlia Rosii” (Ukrainska pravda, 11.04.2026) (accessed 27.04.2026) (in Ukrainian).

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Websites

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