On Tuesday, Kyiv appealed to the International Court of Justice of the United Nations with a request to force Moscow to pay it “reparations”, accusing Russia of waging an “imperialist war”, of “desiring to erase” Ukraine from the world map and of “contempt” of the international community. of the law, AFP and Agerpres report.

Ukraine on Tuesday responded to Russia’s arguments at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, where the two countries are facing off in a lawsuit launched by Ukraine, which accuses Russia of misusing genocide allegations to justify its February 2022 large-scale invasion.

“Russia is not above the law. She must be brought to justice,” Ukrainian diplomat Anton Korinevych said before the court.

“You have the authority to declare that these actions of Russia are illegal, that these ongoing abuses must be stopped, that your decision must be implemented and that Russia must compensate for the damage caused,” the Ukrainian diplomat said, addressing the magistrates of the International Court of Justice.

Ukraine appealed to the highest authority of the UN, shortly after the start of the Russian offensive in February 2022, in an attempt to confront the aggressor country on all fronts – legal, diplomatic and military.

Kyiv accuses Russia of improperly using accusations of genocide in eastern Ukraine to justify its invasion and of planning the genocide itself.

“Russia is trying to overthrow our democratically elected government,” Korynevich said, accusing Moscow of “desiring to erase” Ukraine from the map.

“Russia falsely accused Ukraine of genocide, violating the Genocide Convention,” the same Ukrainian diplomat claimed.

In March 2022, judges of the IC ordered Russia to suspend military operations, which are still ongoing in Ukraine, as an emergency measure.

How Moscow defends itself: Kyiv’s accusations of genocide are only “statements”

One of Moscow’s representatives, Gennady Kuzmin, the first Russian diplomat to stand trial in the case, accused Kyiv on Monday of being “further and further from the truth,” arguing that Russia was referring to the UN Genocide Convention as a reason to launch a war against one’s neighbor.

Simple “declarations” about genocide cannot be preserved under international law, even on the basis of the Genocide Convention, Kuzmin said.

Ukraine’s representative Anton Korynevich on Tuesday criticized the Russian representative’s use of the phrase “final solution” a day ago, accusing it of contradicting his own arguments that Russia did not use allegations of genocide as a pretext for invading Ukraine.

More generally, the case before the Peace Palace in The Hague concerns the dispute over the legitimacy of the UN’s highest court to order an end to the conflict in Ukraine.

So far, Moscow is ignoring the hearing in this case, claiming that it did not have time to prepare its arguments.

Read also:

• The International Court of Justice will hear Russia in September following the procedure initiated by Ukraine
• Russia and Ukraine face off at the International Court of Justice / What is at stake?

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