Allegations of genocide in Donbas

Immediately after the 2014 Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine, armed Russian proxies declared the independence of the two regions, triggering the war in Donbas.

At the same time, the pro-European government in Kyiv began to gradually use the Ukrainian language to replace the dominant position of Russian in Ukraine.

"[9] The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which has been monitoring the conflict in Ukraine from 2014 to 31 March 2022, has stated it had never found any evidence to support Russia's allegations.

[10][11] On 7 March 2022, Ukraine filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), stating that Russia's allegations of genocide were untrue and in no case could provide a legal basis for the invasion.

[12] On 16 March the International Court of Justice stated it had seen no evidence of genocide, and ruled that Russia must "immediately cease its military operations in Ukraine".

Russian children lay flowers at a memorial to children allegedly killed by Ukrainian forces in Donbas , a state-sponsored event in Kursk Oblast , Russia, July 2023