UN top court will rule on jurisdiction in Ukraine case accusing Russia of genocide [Video]

THE HAGUE, Netherlands –

The United Nations’ top court will rule on Friday whether it has jurisdiction in a case brought by Ukraine accusing Russia of violating international law by using a false accusation of genocide as the pretext for its 2022 invasion.

Kyiv launched the case at the International Court of Justice days after the start of the full-scale war in 2022, arguing that Russia breached the 1948 Genocide Convention by wrongly claiming Ukraine was committing genocide against Russian-speaking people in the country.

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Russia has flouted an order by The Hague-based court to halt hostilities.

Moscow snubbed hearings over provisional measures in 2022 but filed an objection to the court’s jurisdiction. During hearings in 2023, lawyers for Russia asked the court to toss out the complaint, calling the legal case an “abuse of process.”

Ukraine is not claiming Russia is committing genocide but rather arguing that the false accusation of genocide is enough …