Is Russia committing genocide in Ukraine David Simon a professor of political science and director of the Genocide Studies Program at Yale University
Is Russia committing genocide in Ukraine? David Simon, a professor of political science and director of the Genocide Studies Program at Yale University, spoke to RFE/RL’s Todd Prince about this question, why it matters, and why Russia’s power on the UN Security Council is a problem. RFE/RL: There’s been debate as to whether what is going on in Bucha and other towns in Ukraine is genocide. What are your views on that? David Simon David Simon: You know, I think there’s a lot of interest in this question, not least because President [Volodymyr] Zelenskiy raised the specter of genocide in his own comments earlier this week. And the images that came out of Bucha are appalling. They ‘shock the conscience,’ to use a phrase that dates back to the Nuremberg [trials] era. The question of whether or not there’s a genocide under way in Ukraine — perhaps at the behest of Russian troops, or the Russian operation as a whole — is actually more complicated than just a matter of atrocities in any one given spot. The determination of genocide depends upon the ability to detect or infer intent.
