The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague by a vote of 13-2 justices ordered Russia to immediately end its renewed invasion of Ukraine, state Ukrinform news agency reported.
President Volydymyr Zelensky welcomed the decision in a social media post on March 16.
“Ukraine gained a complete victory in its case against Russia at the International Court of Justice,” he said on Twitter. “The ICJ ordered [Russia] to immediately stop the invasion. The order is binding under international law. Russia must comply immediately. Ignoring the order will isolate Russia even further.”
Ukraine filed the complaint at what also is called the World Court on Feb. 26, the third day of when Russia once again invaded its neighboring country as part of a bigger war Moscow has waged since 2014.
Kyiv asked the ICJ to hold Russia accountable “for distorting the concept of genocide,” Ukrinform said.
Russia has boycotted the hearings, arguing the court didn’t have jurisdiction, according to a dispatch by German state Deutsche Welle.
Both Ukraine and Russia are signatories of the UN’s 1948 Genocide Convention.
Ukraine’s request to consider its complaint falls under the international court’s jurisdiction, the ICJ ruled.
Although the court’s rulings are binding, no mechanisms to enforce them are in place.
