Kiev tries to compare Israel’s attack on Iran with Russia’s attack on Ukraine – a test of how the same International Law will be applied?

The Ukrainian news reports about President Putin’s two phone calls, to Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel and to the President of Iran Pezeshkian, the day after Israel attacked Iran with heavy fire by aerial missiles and aircrafts.

Putin officially condemned the Israeli attack as a violation of the UN Charta and International Law. Putin also said that the attack was unprovoked and hardly a preemptive attack as the parties were negotiating.

Israel has claimed that the attacks were a preemptive strike, in particular, against Iran’s nuclear capabilities and Iran’s process of uranium enrichment to gain weapons grade uranium. Israel claims that the attacks were necessary and justified to protect the existence of Israel.

Ukrainian officials and news are targeting Putin’s condemnation and accusation of Israel for violating International Law with irony and by repeated statements that Russia’s invasion in Ukraine is as well a violation of International Law etc.

Putin’s condemnation was at the same time a challenging test put forward by Putin, challenging the International Community and, in particular, the West with regard to their own understanding of the UN Charta and International Law. Putin is really an excellent lawyer, still, by education and profession, and suggests to his critics a duty and difficulty to answer this test. If the US, UK and Europe might agree that Israel’s attack on Iran was legitimate from the point of view of International Law, then the invasion of Russia in Ukraine has the same or eventually a much higher legitimacy, hasn’t it?

Of course, the argument may be that both situations are different, but when raising this specific argument, a deeper discussion of the reasons, surroundings and explanations for both attacks need to be held. A simple condemnation of Russia – or of Israel – without a deep legal and factual review may further and from now on not be possible. Clear arguments and a multi-side discussion will be needed before either the Ukraine or the Iran case can be designated as “an unprovoked attack, a violation of International Law and of the UN Charta”.

Putin has opened the gates of hell for a huge wave of lawyers’ disputes … which will make it certainty less easy to blatantly condemn Russia’s actions without a thorough discussion.