Ukraine approaches ICJ against Russia

THE HAGUE: The highest UN court on Sunday confirmed that Ukraine has filed a suit against Russia, saying Russia’s claim it invaded Ukraine to prevent a genocide is false and asking judges to order “provisional measures” to protect Ukraine.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky had said earlier on Sunday he had filed the suit at the International Court of Justice, also known as the world court.

In a statement, the court confirmed it has received Ukraine’s complaint. It did not say when the case would be heard.

Ukraine has submitted its application against Russia to the ICJ. Russia must be held accountable for manipulating the notion of genocide to justify aggression. We request an urgent decision ordering Russia to cease military activity now and expect trials to start next week.

— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 27, 2022

On the other hand, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his defence chiefs to put the country’s nuclear “deterrence forces” on high alert Sunday and accused the West of taking “unfriendly” steps against his country.

Read more: Putin orders nuclear forces on high alert

International tensions are already soaring over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Putin’s order will cause further alarm.

Moscow has the world’s second-largest arsenal of nuclear weapons and a huge cache of ballistic missiles which form the backbone of the country’s deterrence forces.