Zelenskyy calls on top UN court to stop Russian invasion

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday announced Ukraine has requested that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) hold Russia accountable for its military invasion.

“Ukraine has submitted its application against Russia to the ICJ. Russia must be held accountable for manipulating the notion of genocide to justify aggression. We request an urgent decision ordering Russia to cease military activity now and expect trials to start next week,” Zelenskyy tweeted.

The ICJ is the U.N.’s principal judicial arm and is meant to settle international legal disputes submitted by states. The court is comprised of 15 judges who are elected for nine-year terms in office.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week, the U.N. has called for the aggression to cease. During an emergency meeting of the Security Council to discuss Ukraine, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said, “President Putin, in the name of humanity, bring your troops back to Russia.”

On Friday, the U.S. introduced a draft resolution in the U.N. Security Council to denounce Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Out of the 15 member states on the council, 11 voted in favor of the resolution, with China, the United Arab Emirates and India abstaining from the vote. However, Russia, a permanent member of the council, vetoed the resolution.