UN court rejects Ukraine's request for reparations from Russia

The UN International Court of Justice delivered the long-awaited verdicts on Wednesday, finding Russia guilty of violating UN treaties but rejecting other of Ukraine’s claims, including seeking reparations from Moscow for the violations. Ukraine had accused Russia of funding rebels within Ukraine during 2017. The 16-judge panel ruled that Russia had violated a United Nations anti-terrorism treaty by not investigating valid concerns that the rebels were using its money for terrorist activity. The court also found Russia had violated an anti-discrimination treaty by not supporting Ukrainian language education in the Crimean Peninsula after annexing it in 2014. The court also declined to rule whether Russia bears responsibility for the attack on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014 after supplying the missiles used. All passengers and flight crew—nearly 300 people —were killed.

Will Ukraine appeal? Verdicts in the World Court are final and not eligible for appeal. The UN Security Council is responsible for enforcing the court’s rulings. The court is expected to deliver another verdict soon, deciding whether Russia falsely applied the 1948 Genocide Convention to justify its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Dig deeper: Read Leigh Jones’ report in WORLD Magazine about one Ukrainian pastor’s mission to protect his homeland.