Volodymyr Zelensky warns Vladimir Putin is ‘a second Hitler’ – as Ukraine and Russia battle at The Hague today over Moscow’s claims of ‘genocide’ committed by Kyiv

Ukraine’s legal battle against Russia over genocide allegations used by Moscow to justify the 2022 invasion resumes today at the United Nations’ highest court.

During hearings at the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, Ukraine will be backed by a record 32 other countries in a major show of support.

Kiev launched the case shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, arguing that the invasion was based on false claims of genocide against ethnic Russians in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions of eastern Ukraine.

Instead, Kiev’s lawyers will argue that Moscow planned genocidal acts against Ukrainians and then executed them by launching an invasion and indiscriminately killing Ukrainian civilians.

They want the court to order Russia to halt its invasion and pay reparations.

It comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a “full-fledged Hitler” in an interview with CBS.

A protester holds a caricature of Putin, depicted with a combover and Hitler moustache

A worker carries a cross during a funeral ceremony for unidentified persons who died in the Bucha district at the time of the Russian occupation, at a cemetery in Bucha, northwest of Kiev

Zelensky called on the world to consider the consequences of a Russian victory in the war with Ukraine, which he said could trigger World War III.

And he accused the Russians of continually re-electing Putin as president for nearly a quarter century.

“Russian society has lost respect for the world,” he said. ‘It elected and re-elected him and created a second Hitler.

‘If the Russians reach Poland, what will happen? Third World War?’

The Ukrainian media often calls Putin “Putler” and compares him to Adolf Hitler, the leader of Nazi Germany in World War II.

Putin and other Russian officials regularly label Zelensky as “Nazis,” and the Kremlin dictator says his goal in his “special military operation” is to “de-Nazify” Ukraine.

Zelensky further promised that his country’s gradual counter-offensive would not stop when winter arrives in Ukraine.

“(We must) unoccupy the area for as long as possible and move on,” said the Ukrainian president, who is desperate for new weapons and ammunition from the West.

“Even if it’s less than half a mile or a hundred yards, you have to do it.

‘We fly to places where armored vehicles cannot reach. If we can’t fly, we’ll send drones.

“We cannot give Putin any rest,” he concluded.

In filing its case with the International Court of Justice last year, Ukraine said that “Russia has turned the Genocide Convention on its head and made a false claim of genocide as the basis for actions on its part that constitute serious violations of the human rights of millions of people.” of people across Ukraine.”

Ukraine brought the case to the Hague court on the basis of the 1948 Genocide Convention, which both Moscow and Kiev have ratified.

A man pushes his bicycle through rubble and destroys Russian military vehicles on the street on April 6, 2022 in Bucha, Ukraine

Graffiti is seen depicting Putin with a Hitler moustache

View of the Peace Palace that houses the World Court, where Ukraine’s legal battle against Russia is being waged over genocide charges used by Moscow to justify the 2022 invasion

In an interim ruling in March 2022, the court ordered Russia to cease hostilities in Ukraine, a binding legal ruling that Moscow has ignored as the country continues its devastating attacks on Ukrainian towns and cities.

During hearings this week, lawyers for Russia are expected to argue that the court does not have jurisdiction to hear the case, while Ukraine will call on judges to proceed with hearings on the substance of its claims.

In an unprecedented show of international support for Kiev, 32 of Ukraine’s allies, including Canada, Australia and all European Union member states except Hungary, will also issue statements in support of Kiev’s legal arguments.

The United States requested participation on Ukraine’s side, but the judges of the UN court rejected the American request.

The court’s panel of international judges will likely take weeks or months to reach a decision on whether the case can proceed.

And even if it does, a final ruling will likely be years away.

The International Court of Justice hears disputes between countries over legal cases, unlike the International Criminal Court, also based in The Hague, which holds individuals criminally liable for crimes such as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for war crimes against President Putin, accusing him of responsibility for the kidnapping of Ukrainian children.