The Worldwide Court docket of Justice – the UN’s high courtroom – will rule at this time on Ukraine’s allegations that Russia financed separatist rebels within the nation’s east in 2014.
In the identical case, Ukraine has additionally accused Russia of discriminating in opposition to Crimea’s multiethnic group because it annexed the peninsula in the identical 12 months.
The case, which was filed in 2017, predates the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine desires the courtroom to order Moscow to pay reparations for assaults within the japanese components of the nation, together with the downing of Malaysia Airways flight MH17, which Russian-backed rebels shot down on 17 July 2014, killing all 298 on board.
A lawyer for Ukraine, David Zionts, stated at hearings final 12 months the pro-Russia forces in japanese Ukraine “attacked civilians as a part of a marketing campaign of intimidation and terror”.
“Russian cash and weapons fuelled this marketing campaign,” he added.
One other lawyer for Ukraine, Harold Koh, stated Russia “sought to exchange the multiethnic group” that characterised Crimea earlier than Russia’s intervention “with discriminatory Russian nationalism”.
Russia’s legal professionals urged the courtroom to throw out the case, arguing the actions of pro-Moscow rebels didn’t quantity to terrorism.
The legally binding ruling is predicted at about 2pm UK time.
The ICJ’s rulings are closing and with out attraction, however it has no means of implementing them.
One other ruling on Friday
Individually, the identical courtroom can even rule on whether or not it has jurisdiction on one other case in opposition to Russia on Friday.
For that case, Ukraine alleges Moscow launched its invasion of 24 February 2022 on trumped-up genocide allegations.
