The International Court of Justice in The Hague has recognized its jurisdiction in Ukraine's lawsuit against Russia, filed in the first days of a full-scale invasion in connection with statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine allegedly carried out genocide of the Russian-speaking population in the Donbass, BBC said.

"The UN Court partially rejected Russia's claim. It recalled that the Russian authorities have repeatedly accused Kyiv of genocide of the Russian-speaking population of Donbas, explaining the need for a so-called 'special military operation.' Thus, the UN Court decided to partially consider Ukraine's claims on the merits," it states in the statement.

At the same time, the court also rejected Ukraine's assertion that unfair accusations of genocide may themselves be a violation of the international convention on the prevention of genocide.

The Ukrainian side in the lawsuit stated that Russia used false accusations of genocide in Donbas to justify its full-scale invasion at the end of February 2022. The lawsuit accuses Russia of perverting and distorting the concept of genocide, groundlessly accusing Ukraine of genocide, and then using this as a pretext for a full-scale war.

Thus, according to representatives of Ukraine, Russia and President Putin personally abused their rights and violated their obligation under the international Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide.

The Russian side, in turn, insisted that Putin's words about genocide are a "rhetorical turn" that is not based on the definition of international law. Russia tried to prove that, from a legal point of view, the UN court does not have jurisdiction to consider this claim from Ukraine.