Russia denounces Ukraine before the ICJ for “genocide” in Donbas

MADRID 18 Nov. () –

This Monday, the Russian Government presented a complaint against the Ukrainian authorities before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) based in The Hague for genocide in Donbas.

“On November 18 at 8:00 p.m. (Moscow time) the Russian Federation submitted to the International Court of Justice materials on the commission of genocide in Donbas by Ukraine,” explained the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The documentation will be attached to the procedure initiated by Ukraine in February 2022 to accuse Russia of “abusing” the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in which it called for paralyzing the Russian military offensive, Moscow has highlighted.

The Russian document is a 522-page file with more than 10,000 pages of appendices. “The content is confidential right now. All the material will be published when the investigation is completed,” Moscow has indicated, which advances, however, that there are “more than 140 episodes of deliberate destruction of the civilian population of Donbas” with testimonies from some 300 witnesses and victims.

“Now Ukraine will have to respond to the Russian counterdocuments. There will be additional phases of written legal procedures. The final decision will be made after completing the procedures and appearances in The Hague,” he added.

The text of the statement indicates that Russia will continue to “make every effort to ensure that the criminal regime in kyiv is held internationally accountable for the atrocities perpetrated against the people of Donbas.”