In a bid to halt hostilities on its territory, Ukraine has attempted an emergency order from the United Nations’ highest court.
Ukraine argued that Russia, which boycotted the hearing, had wrongly applied genocide law to justify its invasion.
The hearing held at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) lacked legal representation for Russia.
“The fact that Russia’s seats are empty speaks loudly. They are not here in this court of law: they are on a battlefield waging an aggressive war against my country,’’ Ukrainian envoy Anton Korynevych said.
The court said it regretted Russia’s non-attendance.
After Ukraine presented its arguments yesterday the court said it would start deliberations and rule “as soon as possible’’.
A spokesperson for the Russian Embassy in the Netherlands did not reply to a request for comment.
After the hearing, Korynevych stressed that Russia’s absence would not impact the proceedings and Moscow would have to heed any court orders.
“They need to listen and they must listen to the court, under international law,’’ he told reporters.
