Ukraine urges the International Court of Justice in The Hague to fully hear Kyiv's genocide case

Ukraine has called on the International Court of Justice in The Hague to fully hear Kyiv's genocide case and reject Russia's objections.

Reuters reports.

Representative of Ukraine Oksana Zolotarova said that the Ukrainian side needed the protection of the court, as Russia does not comply with international law set out in the 1948 Genocide Convention.

Currently, the court is holding hearings, not a trial on the merits. The parties presented their arguments on whether the court has jurisdiction to consider Ukraine's claim.

Another representative of Ukraine, Anton Korynevych, told Radio Liberty that Russia's arguments had no legal weight and were simply propaganda that should not have been heard in court.

"The International Court of Justice is not a platform for propaganda," Anton Korynevych said, adding that Kyiv had not prepared any counterarguments to Russia's accusations.

"We do not have to respond to every propaganda accusation of the Russian Federation and spend our time on it. We spend our time presenting the court with as many legal arguments as possible," said the Ukrainian representative in court.

It will be recalled that from September 18 to 27, the International Court of Justice in The Hague held preliminary hearings on Ukraine's claim against Russia for violating the International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. All EU countries except Hungary, as well as Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, intervened in support of Ukraine. The court refused to admit the United States on a formal basis.

Ukraine filed a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice on February 26, 2022, claiming that Russia had abused the International Convention on the Prevention of Genocide to justify a full-scale invasion.