World court orders Russia to immediately halt its military operations in Ukraine: ‘Profoundly concerned’
The world’s court ruling on Wednesday came on a suit filed by Ukraine on 27 February
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Your support makes all the difference.The International Court of Justice on Wednesday urged Russia to “immediately suspend” its invasion of Ukraine.
On 24 February, Russia launched military operations in Ukraine and started what president Vladimir Putin referred to as the “demilitarisation” of Ukraine, to “de-Nazify” the country, and warned the west against any interference.
The United Nations’ ICJ ruling on Wednesday came on a suit filed by Ukraine on 27 February, accusing Russia of manipulating the concept of genocide to justify its military aggression.
In its suit, Ukraine said Russia falsely claimed acts of genocide against the people of the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts and then declared and implemented a “special military operation” to prevent and punish the purported acts.
“The ICJ asked Russia to immediately suspend its attacks and cease all military operations as they were based on Moscow’s stated purpose of preventing or punishing Ukraine for committing genocide,” said a press statement by the United Nations.
In its ruling, the court said that it is “profoundly concerned about the use of force by the Russian Federation in Ukraine, which raises very serious issues of international law”.
The ruling was passed by a vote of 13 to two, with vice president Kirill Gevorgian of Russia and judge Xue Hanqin of China dissenting.
However, the judges were unanimous in ruling that both parties should refrain from any action that might “aggravate or extend the dispute…or make it more difficult to resolve”.
Though the ruling is binding, the United Nations has no means of enforcing them on countries.
The court also noted that Russia had decided not to participate in oral proceedings in the case.
It said that Russia instead presented a document setting out its position and contended that the court lacks jurisdiction in the case and requested it to “refrain from indicating provisional measures and to remove the case from its list”.
Delivering the ruling, president Joan Donoghue of the US said: “Indeed, any military operation, in particular one on the scale carried out by the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, inevitably causes loss of life, mental and bodily harm, and damage to property and to the environment.”
“The civilian population affected by the present conflict is extremely vulnerable.”
She added that the invasion had caused “numerous civilian deaths and injuries…significant material damage, including the destruction of buildings and infrastructure”.
After the ruling, UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said in a statement that the order “reinforces” his “repeated appeals.”
“This war must stop,” he said.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is now in its fourth week. The United Nations has estimated that at least 636 civilians have died so far, though the real number is probably higher.
Attacks on Ukrainian cities and towns continued on Thursday morning. One person was killed in a shelling attack in Kyiv. On Wednesday, a Russian airstrike tore through a theatre sheltering thousands of civilians in Mariupol, leaving many buried under burning rubble.
However, according to the latest British intelligence update, the invasion has largely been stalled on all fronts and is suffering heavy losses. The Russian troops have made minimal progress in recent days on land, sea and air, the update said.
Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are expected to resume on Thursday as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he is seeking the end of the war, security guarantees, sovereignty, restoration of territorial integrity among other priorities in peace talks.
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