As of: February 1, 2024, 12:17 p.m
By: Luke Rogalla
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Ukraine sued Russia before the International Court of Justice in 2017: Moscow's aggression began in Donbass in 2014 - now Kiev is suffering a setback.
The Hague - The International Court of Justice has largely dismissed a 2017 lawsuit by Ukraine against Russia over financial support for pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.
In its ruling on Wednesday in The Hague, the United Nations' highest court also largely dismissed the lawsuit alleging discrimination against Ukrainians and Tatars in Crimea.
The Court said that the allegations made by Ukraine were not sufficiently substantiated in both cases.
However, the UN judges declared that Moscow had violated a legally binding order from 2017.
At that time, the court ordered both parties to do everything possible to avoid aggravating the conflict.
But in 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine.
Evidence from Ukraine against Russia is not enough for The Hague
Ukraine had already sued Russia in the Court of Justice in 2017, long before the Russian invasion two years ago, citing the Convention on the Prohibition of the Financing of Terrorism.
According to Ukraine, Russia's aggression began in 2014 in Donbass and on the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Russia continues to annex to this day.
A view of the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, which houses the International Court of Justice.
© Patrick Post/dpa
The judges now assessed only the events before the 2022 invasion and said that the evidence provided by Ukraine of alleged Moscow-funded terrorism in Donbass was insufficient.
The convention on which the lawsuit was based also does not refer to support with weapons.
According to the verdict, Moscow has not done enough to investigate individual allegations of possible financing of terrorism.
Judgments of the International Court of Justice are binding.
However, the court does not have the means to enforce this.
The current verdict is a defeat for Ukraine, which had hoped to gain support for further calls for more sanctions against Russia.
Moscow strictly rejected the allegations.
(dpa)