A hearing at the International Court of Justice into a legal move by Kyiv to stop an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops has opened despite Moscow’s rejection of the proceedings.
The United Nations’ top court opened the case on March 7 despite a conspicuously empty row of seats reserved for Russian lawyers in The Hague-based chamber.
Ukraine is seeking a court order for Russia to “immediately suspend the military operations” Moscow launched on February 24 “that have as their stated purpose and objective the prevention and punishment of a claimed genocide” in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, where Russia-backed separatists have been fighting government forces since 2014.
Kyiv calls the claims a fabricated pretext that Russian President Vladimir Putin is using for the invasion.
The court’s president, U.S. Judge Joan E. Donoghue, said Russia had informed the tribunal that it did not intend to participate in the oral proceedings, which are expected to last two days.
Legal analysts say that, even if the court grants the request Ukraine is seeking, Russia is unlikely to act on it and stop its attack, which has sent more than 1.5 million Ukrainians fleeing to neighboring countries.