ISTANBUL, Feb 28 — Ukraine has taken Russia to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the country’s president said Sunday.
“Ukraine has submitted its application against Russia to the ICJ. Russia must be held accountable for manipulating the notion of genocide to justify aggression,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Twitter.
“We request an urgent decision ordering Russia to cease military activity now and expect trials to start next week,” reported Anadolu Agency citing the tweet.
The ICJ released a statement late Sunday saying Ukraine filed the application proceedings against Russia, requesting the court to indicate “provisional measures.”
It added that Ukraine’s application was related to the “interpretation, application and fulfilment of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.”
In the application, Ukraine accused Russia of “planning acts of genocide in Ukraine” and “intentionally killing and inflicting serious injury on members of the Ukrainian nationality.”
The court is yet to announce the date of the hearing.
Russia’s attack on Ukraine has entered its fifth day, with the latest reports indicating that Russian troops are heading towards the capital, Kyiv.
The intervention was met by an outcry from the international community, with the European Union, UK and US implementing a range of economic sanctions against the Kremlin.
Russia has been further isolated as its airlines have been banned from travelling in European airspace and a number of its banks have been kicked out of the SWIFT international banking system.
Prior to this, Russian President Vladimir Putin was reported to have ordered the military intervention Thursday, days after recognising two separatist-held enclaves in eastern Ukraine.
He claimed that Moscow had no plan to occupy the neighbouring country but wanted to “demilitarise” and “denasify” Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy however accused Russia of trying to install a puppet government and said Ukrainians will defend their country against Russian aggression.
— Bernama
