What role artificial intelligence could play in evaluating the compliance of military operations with international humanitarian law: The case study of the conduct of hostilities in Ukraine
On the 23rd of January 2024, the Russian Federation launched a “massive” airstrike on the cities of Kyiv and Kharkiv, firing 41 missiles. The air defences shot down 21 of these missiles. These strikes exemplify a pattern. On the 1st of January 2024, the Russian Federation launched one of the biggest air attacks on a number of Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv. Prior to this, on the 28th of May 2023 BBC News reported that Russian Federation launched 54 drones on the city of Kyiv overnight. The air defence systems shot down 52 of these drones. The Kyiv City Military Authority reported that the air alert for this attack lasted for more than 5 hours. As a result of this military operation, a number of buildings in a historical neighbourhood where a famous monastery is located caught fire. Individuals living in Kyiv, a city which was one of the most heavily bombed cities in Ukraine in 2023, reported suffering considerable psychological toll as a result of regular aerial bombardments. The president of the UK Air and Space Power Association Greg Bagwell believes that the purpose of the Russian strikes on Kyiv is more about symbolism than achieving military gains. In order to evaluate whether a particular military operation or operations on Kyiv consisting of air bombing breached the prohibition in Art 51(2) of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I) 1977, known as API 1977, one needs to know what military objectives were in the area. Article 51(2) of AP I 1977 prohibits “acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population.”