Kremlin refuses to comply with ICJ ruling to end hostilities in Ukraine
Moscow will not heed the decision of the International Court of Justice demanding an end to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, said on March 17.
“No, we cannot take cognizance of this decision,” he told reporters, Ukrainian news agency Interfax-Ukraine reported.
“The International Court of Justice has such a thing as ‘consent of the parties’. There can be no agreement here.”
Peskov reiterated that in this case, this is something that "cannot be taken on board."
On March 16, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that Russia must stop the war against Ukraine.
According to the court's decision, pending a final ruling, Russia “shall immediately suspend the military operations that it commenced on Feb. 24” and “ensure that any military or irregular armed units which may be directed or supported by it, as well as any organizations and persons which may be subject to its control or direction, take no steps in furtherance of the military operations”. The ruling was supported by 13 judges, with two dissenting – those from Russia and China.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba commented that the court had made exactly the decision that Ukraine had demanded.
He also explained that now the fact of Russia's invasion has been ascertained at the highest legal level, and the court's decision is legally binding in accordance with international law.
At 0500 on Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he had decided to launch a "special military operation" in the Donbas folloing a request from the puppet authorities in the non-government-controlled Luhansk and Donetsk territories. In fact, Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion, though this is being concealed from the Russian public.
March 18 is the 23rd day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The enemy is present in the north, east and south of Ukraine, shelling peaceful cities from artillery and from the air.
From the first days of the war, the situation has been most difficult in Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Mariupol, in Kyiv and its outskirts.The invaders are also trying to seize government-controlled territories in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
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