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Russiaon Monday (September 18) called on the United Nations' highest court in The Hague, Netherlands, to toss out what it has described as a “hopelessly flawed” case that challenges Moscow’s claim that “genocide” in eastern Ukraine was a pretext for its invasion, last year.

The recent request was made during a hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or the World Court, where Ukraine filed a lawsuit against Russiadays after the war began on February 24, 2022.

The suit brought by Ukraine has “emphatically” denied Moscow’s claim that pro-Russian people in eastern Ukraine were being “subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kyiv regime.”

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‘Hopelessly flawed’: Russia about Ukraine’s case

Russian representative, Gennady Kuzmin, said Ukraine’s case accusing Russia of abusing the UN Genocide Convention as a reason to launch its war “couldn’t be further from the truth”.

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This comes as Kyiv has argued that Russia is abusing international law by saying the invasion was justified to prevent an alleged genocide in eastern Ukraine considering that the treaty does not allow an invasion to stop an alleged genocide.

Kuzmin also went on to say how Ukraine’s legal position is “hopelessly flawed” and “at odds with the longstanding jurisprudence” of the court, urging the ICJ to throw out the case.

“Ukraine insists no genocide has occurred,” said Kuzmin. He added, “That alone should be enough to reject the case. Because according to the court’s jurisprudence, if there was no genocide, there cannot be a violation of the Genocide Convention.”

Russia, reiterating its accusation of Ukraine committing genocide, on Monday said the “Russophobic and neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv” was using the 1948 UN Genocide Convention to which both countries are a party, as a pretext to “drag” a case before the court.

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About the case

A report by Reuters citing experts said that even if the ruling is in Kyiv’s favour, it would not stop the war but could impact future reparations payments.

In March 2022, the ICJ sided with Ukraine and ordered Russia to “immediately suspend” its military action in Ukraine but it was just a “preliminary ruling”. Not to mention the debate about the court’s competence to rule on the content of the matter since while their rulings are binding, there is no “police force” to enforce them.

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Therefore the hearings, which are set to run until September 27, will not delve into the merits of the case but rather focus on legal arguments about its jurisdiction. The ICJ will also hear from 32 other states, all supporting Ukraine’s argument saying that the court has jurisdiction to move the case forward.

(With inputs from agencies)

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