The UN International Court of Justice will announce its decision on a case launched in 2017 in which Ukraine accuses Russia of financing militants in 2014 and discriminating against the multi-ethnic community of Crimea after the annexation of the region. This will be the first of two decisions of the International Court of Justice of the United Nations regarding the ten-year conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
On the second day of February, the court will also make a decision on the admissibility of Ukraine's complaint against Russia, related to the "distortion of the concept of genocide." Ukraine accuses the Russian Federation of violating conventions against discrimination and financing terrorism. The ruling could oblige Russia to pay reparations for attacks and crimes in eastern Ukraine, including the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.
During hearings in 2023, Ukraine's lawyer, David Sionts, noted that pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine were using Russian money and weapons to attack civilians in a campaign of intimidation and terror. Russian lawyers deny the terrorist nature of the actions of the militants they support, considering them unrelated to terrorism. Earlier, the International Court of Justice of the United Nations issued a temporary order to Russia to stop the invasion, but Moscow is ignoring it.
