Did Ukraine Commit Genocide? The International Court Begins Investigation

The highest court of the United Nations, on Friday, announced that it will consider a case in which Kyiv requested a declaration that it did not commit genocide in eastern Ukraine, as this was the justification used by Russia to attack its smaller neighbor. Judges at the International Court of Justice acknowledged the court's jurisdiction to consider a small part of the core issue. However, the judges rejected Ukraine’s request for a ruling on whether the Russian invasion violates the 1948 Genocide Convention. Instead, the panel of 16 judges stated that it would only rule later on whether Ukraine committed genocide in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine. Days after the invasion began, Kyiv approached the International Court of Justice in February 2022, filing its case claiming that Russia's use of this justification contradicts the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948.