The top court of the United Nations ruled on Friday that it would take up the question of whether Ukraine committed genocide in its Donetsk and Luhansk regions, an accusation at the heart of Russia’s argument for its 2022 full-scale invasion. The ruling came in a case brought by Ukraine to the International Court of Justice. The court said that Ukraine’s claim that there was no credible evidence that Kyiv was “responsible for committing genocide” in its Donetsk and Luhansk regions was admissible and that it would examine that claim on its merits. The case, which will likely take many months to complete, will give a legal answer to one of the central allegations made by Russia against Ukraine — that Kyiv has been committing genocide against Russian speakers in the country’s east. In his February 2022 speech that announced the invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir V. Putin said that the purpose of the “special military operation,” as Russia has called the war, was to “protect people who, for eight years now, have been facing humiliation and genocide perpetrated by the Kyiv regime.”

---

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, ” Organizations: United Nations, International Court of Justice, Kyiv, Ukraine — Locations: Ukraine, Donetsk, Luhansk, Russia, Kyiv, ”