THE HAGUE, February 2. /TASS/. The UN International Court of Justice ruled that it has jurisdiction in the dispute between Ukraine and Russia on application of the Convention on genocide, and that the lawsuit is acceptable, but it has significantly limited the spectrum of issues to be reviewed. The ruling was announced by Court President Joan Donoghue.

The court concluded that the discussion whether Russia’s use of force against Ukraine and the recognition of Donbass republics constitute a violation of the Genocide Convention does not fall under the court’s jurisdiction, the judge noted, underscoring that Russia’s relevant preliminary objections must be satisfied.

Meanwhile, the court dismissed Russia’s preliminary objections on five other points.

The court ruled that it does have jurisdiction to review the issue of the lack of evidence that Ukraine is responsible for committing genocide in Donbass in violation of the Convention.

The lawsuit in question deals with the interpretation, application and implementation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide; it was filed on February 26, 2022, immediately after the beginning of the special military operation. In this lawsuit, Kiev denies that genocide took place in Donbass, which Russia cites as one of the reasons for the recognition of Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics and the beginning of the special military operation. Russia challenged the acceptability of the lawsuit for review, as well as the court’s jurisdiction regarding this case. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, "Kiev’s claims in reality boil down to challenging of the legitimacy of the special military operation under the UN Charter, as well as the status of DPR and LPR," but "the mentioned Convention has nothing to do with these issues.".