The International Court of Justice has scheduled public hearings beginning Monday on Ukraine’s claims against Russia under the Genocide Convention, expediting proceedings in light of Moscow’s February invasion of its neighbor.
The world court, an arm of the United Nations, hears disputes between governments. A separate tribunal also based in The Hague, the International Criminal Court, can prosecute individuals for war crimes and this week its prosecutor announced an investigation into potential humanitarian-law violations in Ukraine.
In documents filed with the world court last week, Ukraine said Russia “has falsely claimed that acts of genocide have occurred in the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts of Ukraine, and on that basis recognized the so-called ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ and ‘Luhansk People’s Republic’, and then declared and implemented a ‘special military operation’ against Ukraine.”
Ukraine called Russia’s claims “baseless and absurd.” Moscow’s “claimed objective to ‘de-nazify’ Ukraine is a transparent pretext for an unprovoked war of aggression,” Kyiv’s filing says.
Ukraine said it sought ICJ proceedings “to establish that Russia has no lawful basis to take action in and against Ukraine for the purpose of preventing and punishing any purported genocide.” Kyiv also accuses Russia of “planning acts of genocide in Ukraine” and of intentionally killing Ukrainian nationals.
Ukraine also asked the court to “order full reparation for all damage caused by the Russian...
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