“None of our partners directly states that Russia is committing genocide in Ukraine,” — Vitalii Tytych in an interview with LB.ua

The Ukrainian online news and analysis outlet LB.ua, focused on politics, society, and culture, has published an interview by journalist Kateryna Hladka with Vitalii Tytych, Chair of the Board of the Raphael Lemkin Society, a military serviceman and criminal lawyer.

The conversation focuses on how the crime of genocide can be proven in legal terms, why the destruction of cultural heritage should not be viewed merely as a byproduct of war, and why the case of Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin is important for understanding Russia’s broader policy toward Ukrainian culture.

“… a paradox arises: legal instruments exist, facts are accumulating, but many are “ashamed” to say that this is genocide and nothing else,” Vitalii Tytych emphasizes.

The discussion also addresses questions of international law, the documentation of crimes against culture, the role of expert testimony, and the need to call Russia’s actions against Ukraine by their proper name.