Kiev accuses Moscow of supporting pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine that shot down the Boeing 777 in 2014, killing all 298 passengers and crew.
Ukraine and Russia are slated for a confrontation at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – the highest court of the United Nations – over Moscow’s support of pro-Russian forces accused of “insurgency” against the Ukrainian state and armed violence including the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 in 2014, which killed all 298 passengers and crew.
Judges at the ICJ in The Hague will hear Ukraine’s claim on Tuesday that Moscow violated a UN anti-terrorism treaty by equipping and funding pro-Russian separatists. 10 years ago.
Lawyers for Ukraine will speak from 10 a.m. local time (8 a.m. GMT) on Tuesday, while Russia will address the court with a response on Thursday, the ICJ said in a statement. Ukraine will then reply on June 12 and Russia on June 14.
Kiev accuses Russia of supporting pro-Moscow forces in Ukraine’s Donbas with arms and money, violating the UN-adopted International Convention to Combat the Financing of Terrorism.
Ukraine is seeking reparations for the fighting, which began in 2014 and killed about 13,000 people in the eight years leading up to Russia’s massive invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Ukraine claims that Russia has “instigated and sustained an armed uprising against the authority of the Ukrainian state in eastern Ukraine” and “created a climate of violence and intimidation against non-Russian ethnic groups,” the ICJ said in the statement.
Established in the aftermath of World War II, the ICJ handles disputes between UN member states and, while its rulings are legally binding, the court has no enforcement mechanism.
Tuesday’s hearing marks the first time lawyers from Ukraine and Russia have met at the ICJ, also known as the World Court, since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion. Moscow has tried to get the ICJ case off the table, arguing that the court has no jurisdiction.
Last November, a Dutch court convicted two Russian men and a Ukrainian national in absentia of murder for their role in the shooting down of MH17 and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
The three former Russian intelligence agents Igor Girkin and Sergey Dubinsky and the Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko, a leader of the Ukrainian separatists, were sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment. The three remain free. The court also ruled that since mid-May 2014, Russia had “overall control” of the armed forces in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the time that the ruling was an important decision and that the masterminds of the attack should also be prosecuted.
“Holding masterminds to account is also crucial as the sense of impunity leads to new crimes,” Zelenskyy wrote in a tweet.
Important judgment of the court in The Hague. First sentences for the perpetrators of #MH17 take down. Holding masterminds to account is also crucial, as the sense of impunity leads to new crimes. We must dispel this illusion. Punishment for all the atrocities of RF then and now is inevitable.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 17, 2022
An ICJ finding that Russia equipped and financed fighters in eastern Ukraine responsible for the MH17 disaster would be a defeat for Moscow, which in 2014 repeatedly denied sending troops or military equipment to eastern Ukraine. Such a ruling could encourage legal claims for damages. or reparations not only from Ukraine, but also from individual victims of the conflict.
It is not yet known when the ICJ will issue a ruling.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is also the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, also based in The Hague, on war crimes charges for the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. The Kremlin denies those allegations.