Head of SBU: Ukraine provided the UN proof of Russia’s involvement in the conflict in the Donbas
Ukraine has provided thousands of pages of documentary evidence of Russia's participation in the conflict in the Donbas to the International Court of Justice, as stated by the head of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), Vasyl Hrytsak, at a briefing on Saturday. The suit itself was filed in mid-January, and in April Ukraine failed to achieve the approval of special measures against Russia in time for the suit’s consideration.
"All of you know that in January, Ukraine initiated a suit in the UN Court regarding Russia's support of terrorism in the Donbas... Thousands of pages of documents, of documented evidence of Russia's crimes in the Donbas and in the Crimea have already been handed over," Hrytsak told reporters.
According to the head of the SBU, the documents testify to the "wide-ranging work" of the Russian leadership with the intent to "destroy the Ukrainian State in any way." The transferred papers also "prove Russia’s financing of terrorism and of supplying weapons and equipment to the Donbas," said Hrytsak.
The head of the Security Service of Ukraine also recalled that earlier the Ukrainian special services had repeatedly detained Russian military servicemen. The most recent case is the detention of Victor Ageyev. On Saturday, Ageyev’s mother came to see him and they met for the first time in four months. The Russian Ministry of Defense denies that Ageyev, who was detained in the Luhansk region, served under a contract with the Russian government. Hrytsak said that he was accused of terrorism.
The documents were filed as part of the lawsuit which Ukraine had already submitted to the United Nations International Court against Russia in January 2017. In it, Kyiv demanded that Russia be brought to justice "for committing acts of terrorism and discrimination during its illegal aggression against Ukraine."
Ukraine argued that Moscow has violated two conventions, one on the fight against the financing of terrorism and one on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination. The court complied with one of the Kyiv's demands and ruled that Russia "should refrain" from restrictions on "the ability of the Crimean Tatars to maintain their institutions of power" and guarantee the ability to study the Ukrainian language. The court did not consider Ukraine's position on the violation of the convention on combating the financing of terrorism.
In the course of these proceedings, Moscow is being represented by the head of the legal department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Roman Kolodkin. He said that the charges brought by Kyiv are beyond the jurisdiction of the court. He also called on Kyiv to work on the full implementation of the Minsk Agreements.
Kyiv, the United States, and the EU have repeatedly accused Moscow of interfering in the affairs of Ukraine. The European Union and the United States imposed sanctions after the inclusion of the Crimea into Russia, which they consider an illegal annexation. The sanctions have been strengthened several times against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in southeast Ukraine.