World court to hold public hearings on Ukraine-Russia crisis on March 7-8

The Hague, Netherlands: As the Ukraine-Russia fight intensifies, the International Court of Justice said Tuesday it would hold public hearings on March 7 and 8 over the war.

According to the ICJ's statement, the hearings will be devoted to the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by Ukraine.

"The International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, will hold public hearings in the case concerning Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russian Federation) on Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 March 2022,", the court said in a statement.

More than 660,000 people have already fled abroad, the UN refugee agency said, estimating that a million people are displaced within ex-Soviet Ukraine, which has a population of 44 million.

The UN said that up to four million refugees may need help in the coming months and 12 million more will need assistance within the country.

Ukraine on Sunday had approached the International Court of Justice against Russia to hold Russia accountable for its actions against Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted that Russia must be accountable for "manipulating the notion of genocide to justify aggression".

"Ukraine has submitted its application against Russia to the ICJ. Russia must be held accountable for manipulating the notion of genocide to justify aggression. We request an urgent decision ordering Russia to cease military activity now and expect trials to start next week," the president tweeted.

International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan already announced he was launching an investigation on the "situation in Ukraine" following Russia's invasion.

"I am satisfied that there is a reasonable basis to believe that both alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Ukraine" since 2014, Khan said in a statement Monday.