The UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that Russia must immediately cease military activities in Ukraine, marking the first time the world court has issued a ruling since Moscow launched its assault of Kiev on February 24.
The ICJ determined that Russia "must immediately halt the military operations that it began on February 24" by a vote of 13 to two, with Vice-President Kirill Gevorgian of Russia and Judge Xue Hanqin of China dissenting.
Indian ICJ Judge Dalveer Bhandari cast one of the 13 affirmative votes. The decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by Ukraine on February 27 accusing Russia of utilising the notion of genocide to justify military aggression. UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated in a tweet shortly after the judgement that the majority vote "completely underlines my constant appeals for peace."
The Court begins by recalling that Ukraine filed an application against Russia on February 26 concerns "a dispute" over the interpretation, application, and implementation of the Genocide Convention.
Ukraine said that after falsely accusing the inhabitants of the Luhansk and Donetsk areas of genocide, Russia announced and carried out a "special military operation" to prevent and punish the alleged crimes. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Russia to halt all military activities and suspend all attacks, citing Moscow's stated goal of preventing or punishing Ukraine for genocide.
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