Agency Report

The UN’s top court on Wednesday ordered Russia to suspend its invasion of Ukraine, saying it was “profoundly concerned” by Moscow’s use of force.

“The Russian Federation shall immediately suspend military operations that it commenced on 24 February on the territory of Ukraine,” pending the final decision in the case, judge Joan Donoghue told the International Court of Justice.

“The court is profoundly concerned about the use of force by the Russian Federation which raises very serious issues in international law,” Donoghue told a hearing in The Hague.

Kyiv lodged an urgent case at the ICJ on February 27, saying that Russia had illegally justified its war by falsely alleging genocide in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

Ukraine has asked the court to take provisional measures ordering Russia to suspend the invasion, pending a full judgement on the matter that could take years.

Set up after World War II to rule on disputes between UN member states, the ICJ bases its judgements mainly on treaties and conventions — in this case the 1949 Genocide Convention.

Although the court’s rulings are binding, it has no real means to enforce them, but experts said a ruling in Ukraine’s favour would help elevate its plight on the world stage.

AFP