Russia-Ukraine conflict: ICJ to rule Wednesday on genocide claims

The ruling is in response to a suit Ukraine filed on February 27 accusing Russia of manipulating the concept of genocide to justify its invasion.

FILE PHOTO: General view of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands January 23, 2020 (photo credit: REUTERS/EVA PLEVIER/FILE PHOTO)
FILE PHOTO: General view of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands January 23, 2020
(photo credit: REUTERS/EVA PLEVIER/FILE PHOTO)

The United Nations' International Court of Justice will rule on Wednesday regarding accusations of genocide in Ukraine.

The announcement was made on the ICJ's Twitter account that it would announce its decision on the case, which has been named "Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russian Federation)."

The ruling is set to be made at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, at 4:00 p.m. local time.

The ruling is in response to a suit Ukraine filed on February 27 following Russia's accusations that it was committing genocide against Russian speakers. Ukraine denies these allegations, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying that Russia is distorting and manipulating the very concept of genocide as a pretext to invade his country.

"Russia must be held accountable for manipulating the notion of genocide to justify aggression," Zelensky wrote on his Twitter account. "We request an urgent decision ordering Russia to cease military activity now and expect trials to start next week."

This is a developing story.

Reuters contributed to this report.