The ICC admits to processing a counterargument from Russia on the alleged genocide in eastern Ukraine

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has admitted an appeal by Russia against Ukraine’s request for the court to dismiss one of the arguments used by Moscow to justify its invasion: that Ukraine was committing genocide against the ethnic Russian population in the Donbas region, in the east of the country.

The court has admitted this reply from Russia, understanding that both are directly connected by using the 1948 Genocide Convention as a common basis.

In the result of the deliberation published this Monday, the International Criminal Court considers that “there is a direct connection between the main claim of Ukraine and the response of the Russian Federation (…) in the same instrument, the Convention against Genocide, which is invoked both as a title of jurisdiction and as a basis for the parties’ claims on the merits.”

Similarly, the ICC has noted that Russia intends to use “for the most part the same evidence both to refute Ukraine’s claim and to support its own counterargument.”

These proceedings date back to February 26, 2022, two days after the start of the Russian invasion, and directly address the previous years of conflict in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Lugansk. Ukraine complained to the court that Russia had “falsely claimed that acts of genocide have been committed in the provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk, which Moscow used to recognize them as independent of Ukrainian territory.”

Ukraine asked the court to declare this premise invalid, which would deprive Russia of one of its most important legal reasons to justify the invasion. Two years later, the court declared itself competent to deliberate on the matter and opened the door for Russia to present a counterargument to justify its position.

This Monday’s ruling also authorizes Ukraine to respond to the counterargument presented by Russia, and again authorizes Moscow to respond to what kyiv says no later than May 20, 2025 and September 22, 2025, respectively.