Russia absent from first day of war crimes hearings at International Court of Justice

Russia was absent on Monday from the first day of hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over Moscow alleged violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the invasion of Ukraine that began on Feb. 24.

"The court regrets the non-appearance of the Russian Federation at this oral trial," ICJ Presiding Judge Joan Donoghue said at the start of the hearing.

Ukraine's envoy, Anton Korynevych, also regretted the absence of the Russian delegation at the Peace Palace in The Hague.

"The fact that Russia's seats are empty speaks for itself. They are not here in this court of law, they are on a battlefield waging an aggressive war," Korynevych said, according to Reuters.

The Kyiv representative claimed that Russia misinterpreted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, a 1948 treaty signed by both countries, as Moscow justified the invasion based on an alleged Russian genocide in Donetsk and Luhansk provinces.

"This is a horrible lie," Korynevych said. "It is not Ukraine who is committing genocide, but Russia and its political leadership and military personnel that commit crimes against humanity and war crimes."

More than 1.5 million people have fled the country since Feb. 24, and there are thousands more hiding in shelters in the capital. "There are babies being born in the subway and in tunnels while hospitals are being bombed. All this is a terrible reality that the people of Ukraine are facing right now," said Korynevych.

An ICJ hearing was originally scheduled for Tuesday for Russia to present its case is expected to be canceled, Reuters reported. In previous cases before the International Court of Justice, where one of the parties did not appear to present its side, the Court ruled without interference from those parties.