In a court filing on Sunday, Ukraine said that Russia has “falsely claimed that acts of genocide” had occurred in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine as a pretext for its invasion. Ukraine has asked the International Court of Justice, the highest court in the United Nations, to demand Russia ceases its attack.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Washington DC-based law firm Covington & Burling said, "I can confirm that Covington has filed a claim at the International Court of Justice on behalf of our client Ukraine.”
Covington & Burling has represented Ukraine before in several other matters, including a past case before the International Court of Justice.
On Sunday, the human rights commission in Ukraine estimated the number of civilian victims to stand at 210, including several children. Since, this figure is understood to have risen significantly and is expected to rise further still as Russian paratroopers begin their attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv.