The International Court in The Hague has begun hearings as part of the substantive consideration of Ukraine's lawsuit against russia

The first hearings concerning Ukraine's case against russia took place at the United Nations International Court in The Hague on Tuesday, June 6. This information was reported by DW.

It is noted that the lawsuit was filed in connection with the alleged violation by the russian side of two international conventions: the Convention on the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

At the conclusion of the first day of hearings, the Ambassador at Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Anton Korynevych referred to session in The Hague as the culmination of six years of work. He emphasized that this is the first case of Ukraine against russia that has reached the stage of substantive consideration in an international judicial institution.

On June 6, the Ukrainian side presented its arguments to the fifteen judges in The Hague. In the first part of the session, lawyers discussed the actions of pro-russian separatists in the Donbas, which led to the deaths and injuries of civilians, including the downing of the Malaysian Airlines Boeing, shelling of residential areas in Kramatorsk and Mariupol, an attack on a passenger bus near Volnovakha, and explosions at a rally and a nightclub in Kharkiv.

The Ukrainian side insists that all these tragic events occurred because russia deliberately supplied weapons to the separatists, continuing the deliveries after each similar episode, refusing to cooperate with Kyiv on matters of border control regarding illegal arms shipments, the investigation of financing of separatist armed formations, and the prosecution of responsible individuals.

The counterarguments presented by russia in written form were called "incompatible with reality and unsupported by evidence" by the lawyers.

"Russia did not take practical measures to prevent terrorist acts", - stated lawyer Clovis Trevino.

The second part of the hearings mainly focused on accusations against russia regarding systematic racial discrimination in annexed Crimea against Crimean Tatars and ethnic Ukrainians, including abductions, disappearances, killings, extrajudicial searches and detentions, and restrictions on the teaching of Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar languages.

"This pattern of actions not only resulted in discrimination as a consequence but also aimed at it", - said lawyer Amanda Tuninetti.

It is indicated that the representative of the russian delegation at the proceedings refused to communicate with the DW journalist.

The substantive hearings of the case will continue on June 8, 12, and 14, with the next stage being the issuance of a verdict. It is expected that the UN court will take several months to reach a decision. The decision of the International Court is binding on both parties and must be complied with.