Top UN court says genocide case brought by Ukraine against Russia can move forward

The United Nations’ top court on Friday said that it will move forward with a case brought by Ukraine over Russia’s justification of its February 2022 invasion.

Kyiv had asked the court to declare it did not commit genocide in eastern Ukraine - a claim made by Russia as a pretext for launching its attack.

Ukraine filed the the case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) just days after Russia launched its invasion on February 24, 2022, citing Moscow’s invocation of the Genocide Convention to justify its assault.

Russia has objected to the proceedings and said it is legally flawed. During hearings in September last year, lawyers representing Moscow urged judges to throw out the entire case.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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