Introduction to the Special Section

In July 2023, the OSCE Parliamentarian Assembly adopted the Vancouver Declaration during its 30th Session, condemning Russia’s aggression and war crimes in Ukraine and calling for an end to the nuclear threat escalation fuelled by Russia’s invasion of and so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine on the 24th of February 2022. Russian parliamentarians did not participate in the Assembly (OSCE 2023). Ever since, this invasion has been declared a violation of international law by the OSCE, UN, and EU, and a “war of aggression against Ukraine” by the ICC. This Special Section is dedicated to the events unfolding since February of 2022 and the responses by different states, organizations, and actors toward these. The following chapters illustrate and represent different views and perspectives on the war, crisis and conflict in Ukraine from across the OSCE region.