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Topics: Russia, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, World News
Poppy Bilderbeck
Topics: Russia, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, World News
Ukraine has filed a lawsuit against Russia to the UN international court of justice at the Hague.
President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has taken to Twitter to confirm that an application has been submitted against the Kremlin to the International Court of Justice.
The lawsuit follows a recent video address in which Zelensky warned that Russia's actions in 'attacking everything' including civilian areas showed 'signs of genocide'.
In his most recent tweet, Zelensky said: '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.'
Despite Russia saying it did not want to harm civilians, today, February 27, Sky News reports more than 200 people, mostly thought to the civilians, have been killed and more than 1,100 wounded since the invasion first began on Thursday, February 24.
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Viktor Lyashko, the Health Minister of Ukraine, also claimed a number of children are among the fatalities.
In one of his regular video addresses, posted this morning, President Zelensky stated: 'The past night in Ukraine was brutal, again shooting, again bombardments of residential areas, civilian infrastructure. They are going to bomb our Ukrainian cities even more, they are going to kill our children even more subtly. This is the evil that has come to our land and must be destroyed.'
The Ukrainian President also took to social media this morning to call on foreigners to join the battle against the 'Russian war criminals'.
He stated: 'Ukrainians have manifested the courage to defend their homeland and save Europe and its values from a Russian onslaught. This is not just Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This is the beginning of a war against Europe, against European structures, against democracy, against basic human rights, against a global order of law, rules and peaceful coexistence.'
Despite the EU promising to impose the 'strongest, harshest package' of sanctions on the country, Zelensky previously accused the EU of having had an insufficient reaction to the invasion, though has since said he is 'grateful' to 'the British Prime Minister for his position, new decisions to enhance the combat capabilities of the Ukrainian army'. Zelensky has also called for Ukraine to become part of the European Union.
If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information