Russia claims West is ignoring Ukraine’s “mass slaughter of civilians.”
QUICK FACTS:
- The West is turning a blind eye to Ukraine’s atrocities against civilians in Donbass, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday, TASS reports.
- “Once again we see sheer apathy from the West. They zealously ignored and remained silent over yet another atrocity by their Ukrainian subordinates. As if nothing had happened. As if there was no mass slaughter of civilians,” she said.
- Zakharova pointed to a March 14 attack on Donetsk, during which the spokeswoman said the Ukrainian military fired a Tochka-U rocket with cluster munition into the city center, killing more than 20 people and wounding 37 others.
- “This is a barbaric terrorist act,” she said, adding that Russia deeply resents the methods that the Ukrainians have resorted to when conducting hostilities.
- The spokeswoman claimed this type of weaponry was used repeatedly by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Makeyevka.
- “Thanks to the coordinated work of the Donetsk People’s Republic militia, it was possible to avoid horrific consequences. Fortunately, no one was killed then, but civilians, including children, were injured,” she noted.
RUSSIA’S CLAIMS OF UKRAINE COMMITTING “GENOCIDE” MAKE IT TO U.N. INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE:
- Ukrainian news outlet Ukrinform reports that on March 16 the U.N. International Court of Justice had ordered Russia to cease hostilities in Ukraine while the court analyzed Russia’s claim that the Ukrainian government was committing genocide in Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine.
- Ukraine had turned to the United Nations’ highest court to try to stop Russia’s invasion, urging its judges to issue an injunction demanding that Russia end its incursion in the country, The New York Times reports.
- Russia boycotted the hearing, promting presiding judge Joan E. Donoghuen to say, “The court regrets the nonappearance of the Russian Federation in these oral proceedings.”
- Both Ukraine and Russia are parties to the Genocide Convention and submitted disputes “relating to the interpretation, application or fulfillment of the Convention, including those relating to the responsibility of a State for genocide” to the ICJ’s jurisdiction, according to The Kyiv Independent.
BACKGROUND:
- Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Russia’s “special military action” is needed “to protect people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide” in eastern Ukraine, Reuters reports.
- Ukraine sought an emergency order from the United Nations’ highest court on Monday to halt hostilities on its territory, arguing that Russia had falsely applied genocide law to justify its invasion.
- Ukraine has also accused Russia of committing genocide, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claiming Russia’s attacks on his country “show signs of genocide.”
- Just before invading Ukraine, Russia recognized Donetsk and Luhansk as sovereign territories independent from Ukraine.
- In 2014, the two Donbass territories declared independence from Ukraine.
