The delegation of Ukraine is convinced that the UN International Court of Justice has jurisdiction to consider the case of genocide

Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Anton Korynevych hopes that following the results of this weekʼs hearings, and after the second round of oral hearings next week, the UN International Court of Justice in The Hague will proceed to hear the genocide case on its merits.

"Babel" correspondent Oksana Kovalenko reported this from the scene.

"We firmly believe that the court has jurisdiction, as the very accusations of genocide under the Genocide Convention were and remain the reasons why the Russian Federation is carrying out its brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Therefore, we believe that today we have presented a good selection of both legal and factual materials... And we hope that this court will proceed to hearing the case on its merits," Korynevych emphasized.

He was asked whether Ukraine will appeal to the International Court of the UN directly with accusations that Russia is committing genocide in Ukraine. The ambassador replied as follows: for this, it is necessary to see how the investigation of the criminal proceedings proceeds, how they are considered by national courts and what international organizations and the International Criminal Court will say about it.

Anton Korynevych also added that if the court goes to the merits of the case and makes a decision, it will affect other proceedings in various courts and instances related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the crimes it commits there.

• Ukraine filed a genocide lawsuit against the Russian Federation on February 26, 2022, two days after the start of a full-scale Russian invasion. The Kremlin accused Kyiv of "genocide" of Donbas residents and used it as a basis for the invasion on February 24, 2022.
• On September 18, the UN International Court of Justice in The Hague resumed hearings in Ukraineʼs lawsuit against Russia regarding the Convention on the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide.
• The Russian delegation had the floor on September 18 and tried to prove to the court that the court does not have jurisdiction to consider the case, and the subject of the dispute is allegedly absent. Ukraine will perform on September 19 and 27. Russia will perform again on September 25.