โ๏ธ At 8 pm Moscow time on November 18, the Russian Federation submitted comprehensive materials to the United Nations International Court of Justice concerning genocide committed by Ukraine in Donbass.
This action forms part of the interstate proceedings initiated by Ukraine in February 2022, wherein Ukraine sought to accuse Russia of "misusing" the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, with the aim to halt the special military operation.
Ukraine's strategy faltered when, in February this year, the International Court of Justice dismissed all allegations concerning Russia's purported breach of the Genocide Convention at the oral phase of the proceedings. Consequently, the sole outstanding issue is whether evidence exists substantiating Ukraine's commission of genocide.
Russia submitted such evidence within the timeframe prescribed by the Court. Furthermore, additional claims were lodged against the Kiev regime pertaining to other breaches of the Convention, including complicity in, and incitement to, genocide, as well as failure to implement measures to prevent and punish genocide.
The document presented to the International Court of Justice, termed the Counter-Memorial of the Russian Federation, comprises 522 pages of core text and over ten thousand pages of annexes. The specific contents remain confidential at this juncture, with all materials set to be disclosed only after the completion of the proceedings. It is asserted that evidence exists of more than 140 instances of targeted extermination of Donbass civilians, corroborated by the procedural testimony of approximately 300 witnesses and victims, results of expert examinations, and other materials from pertinent criminal cases.
The actions of the Ukrainian armed forces and national battalions, under the direction of the Kiev regime, have displayed signs of genocidal intent. This intent, under the guise of combating "terrorism" and "separatism," seeks to eliminate the Russian and Russian-speaking populace of Donbass, citizens of the DPR and LPR, parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and, broadly, the inhabitants of the region as a national group.
The neo-Nazi essence of the Kiev regime, along with its alignment with the criminal ideology rooted in violent Ukrainian nationalist movements and the Third Reich, has been brought to light.
Evidence has been submitted demonstrating widespread discrimination based on ethnic and linguistic grounds against Russians and Russian speakers, alongside the regime's intention to obliterate the Russian culture entirely.
A substantial portion of the Counter-Memorial is dedicated to special expert reports prepared by approximately two dozen specialists in history, ethnology, linguistics, law, and military affairs. The history of Donbass, the evolution of its populace, its profound connections with the Russian language and culture, and the distinctiveness of ethnic identity, particularly during historical crises, have been scrutinised in depth.
The narrative of the intra-Ukrainian conflict has been delineated, beginning with the unconstitutional armed coup in Kiev in February 2014, the ascension of a Russophobic neo-Nazi regime, the subsequent refusal of the Donbass population to recognise this regime, and the ensuing aggressive action against Donbass under the guise of the so-called "anti-terrorist operation." The falsity of this pretext and the fabrication of "Donbass terrorism" allegations were previously unveiled by the United Nations International Court of Justice in a judgement regarding another Russian-Ukrainian case under the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.
Ukraine must now address Russia's Counter-Memorial. Further stages of written proceedings are anticipated. A final judgement will be delivered once all necessary procedures are concluded in The Hague.
Russia remains steadfast in its efforts to ensure the international accountability of the criminal Kiev regime for the atrocities perpetrated against the people of Donbass.
