Russia boycotted a hearing before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday where Ukraine alleged that Kremlin's claim of genocide was false and sought protection from military action. The ICJ expressed its regret after the Russian Ambassador to The Netherlands said that Moscow would not participate in the oral proceedings.
"The fact that Russia's seats are empty speaks loudly. They are not here in this court of law. There are on a battlefield waging an aggressive war against my country," Ukrainian envoy Anton Korynevych told ICJ.
"This is how Russia solves disputes," he added.
On February 26, two days after Moscow declared war, Ukraine filed a plea in the ICJ emphatically denying Russian allegations of genocide and sought protection from Russian aggression.
The hearing continued without Russian presence and the ICJ—the judicial arm of the United Nations—is expected to give its verdict soon.
Ukraine on Monday told the ICJ that Russian claim of genocide was nothing but "legal window dressing" for armed aggression. Ukraine sought the court's protection 'from this lie and its repercussions'.
"Russia must be stopped and this court has a role to play in stopping it," Korynevych told judges. He further urged Russia "to lay down its arms" and engage in dialogue to that Ukraine committed genocide against the Russian-speaking province of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Also Read: Russian Claims Of Genocide False: Ukraine To International Court of Justice
Claims of Genocide a lie: Ukraine
A panel of advocates and scholars told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that the Russian claims of genocide were nothing but a lie and a pretext used to inflict armed aggression.
Ukraine relied on United Nation reports which said that there has not been a single act of genocide by Ukraine against the in the Russian-speaking provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk in the past eight years, Ukrainian representative David Zionts said.
In fact, Russia's claims of genocide are empty since the Russian-speaking part of the country, which it sought to liberate, has not been spared from war, another representative said referring to the shelling in Mariupol in south-east Ukraine.
"This is not the first time Ukraine has experienced first-hand Russia's disrespect for international law," Ukraine's representative said. "The Russian President said that the purpose of the war is to protect people from genocide. This is a horrible lie. Putin lies and Ukrainians, our citizens die. It is not Ukraine that committed genocide," he added.
The representatives for Ukraine further submitted that "The world's failure in imposing limits on Russia's past adventures has only emboldened President Putin".
Ukraine said that events of the past few weeks suggest the conflict is bigger than a war between Russia vs Ukraine. "This war is about who will succeed - the post-war world order or Russia. If the ICJ does not intervene, be rest assured that this will not be the last such case. Putin's aggression will not end with Ukraine," the representative added.
"It is Russia and its political leadership and military personnel who commit war crimes and crimes against humanity in the territory of Ukraine," he added.
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More than 1.5 million Ukrainians now refugees
"Russia's assault on Ukraine has prompted more than 1.5 million people to flee the country," agent of Ukraine Anton Korynevych said. "Many more are internally displaced. More than 15,000 people, most of them women and children have taken shelter in Kyiv's subway tunnels. Babies are being born underground tunnels and hospitals are being shelled," Korynevych said appealing for protection.
"There is an urgent situation prevailing in Ukraine requiring the passing of provisional measures," Jonathan Gimblett one of Ukrainian representatives told court. "Russia has been engaged in a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is causing and will continue to cause immense human suffering," he added.
"Mariupol continues to live without water, electricity, and heating as the result of the constant shelling. Today it is Mariupol. Tomorrow it could be Kharkiv or Kyiv," Gimblett said.
"As bad as things are, they are about to get worse," Ukraine told the ICJ.