Updates on Kyiv's ICJ case against Russia:
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is due to issue a ruling on Kyiv’s bid to block what it says is Russia's monetary and military support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The UN court in The Hague is expected to hand down its ruling on Ukraine's request for provisional measures against Russia is expected to take place at 1 p.m. GMT on April 19.
Moscow seized control of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014 and has supported the separatists in a war that has killed more than 9,900 people in eastern Ukraine since April of that year.
When it lodged its case in January, Kyiv said that Russia has stepped up its interference in Ukraine's affairs since 2014, "intervening militarily…financing acts of terrorism and violating the human rights of millions of Ukraine's citizens, including, for all too many, their right to life."
It said Ukraine was seeking "full reparations for...acts of terrorism the Russian Federation has caused, facilitated or supported," citing bombardments of residential areas and the July 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which killed all 298 passengers and crew.
Ukraine is also calling on the court to stop what it says is "racial discrimination" against Crimean Tatars and ethnic Ukrainians in Crimea since its takeover of the peninsula, which followed the deployment of troops and a referendum denounced as illegitimate by Ukraine, the United States, and a total of 100 UN member countries.
Russian Denials
Ukraine's filing accused Russia of violating the Terrorism Financing Convention and an international treaty against racial discrimination.
It asked the court's 15 judges to rule that "the Russian Federation bears international responsibility" for "acts of terrorism committed by its proxies in Ukraine."
Moscow rejects the allegations. It has said the terrorism claims are "neither factual nor legal" and argued that the ICJ does not have jurisdiction over the case.
Russia has denied sending troops or military equipment to eastern Ukraine, despite what Kyiv and Western countries say is incontrovertible evidence.
As it can take months for the ICJ to even decide to hear a case, Ukraine also lodged a request for provisional protection measures.
In that interim application, Ukraine asked for an urgent court order demanding Russia refrain from "any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute" or make it more difficult to resolve, including a halt to the alleged pumping of money, weapons, equipment and personnel into the east.
The United States, European Union, and other countries have imposed sanctions on Russia in response to its interference in Ukraine, which has badly damaged Moscow's relations with both the West and Ukraine.
Although the ICJ’s rulings are final and binding, it has no means of enforcement.
With reporting by AFP
In case you missed it yesterday:
More details on the trial of RFE/RL contributor Mykola Semena, which was adjourned yesterday:
By the Crimean Desk of RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service
The trial of RFE/RL contributor Mykola Semena, a Crimean journalist who is fighting what he says is a politically motivated separatism charge on the Russian-controlled peninsula, has been adjourned until May 3 after a brief hearing on April 18.
A single witness for the prosecution testified in the latest session of the start-and-stop trial in the Crimean capital, Simferopol, while two other prosecution witnesses failed to appear.
Semena faces up to five years in prison if convicted by Russia, which has jailed several Crimeans who have opposed or criticized Moscow’s 2014 seizure of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine.
The charge against 66-year-old Semena stems from an article he wrote for RFE/RL's Krym.Realii (Crimea Realities) website in 2015. The Kremlin-installed authorities in Crimea have charged that the article called for the violation of Russia’s territorial integrity.
Semena contends that he is innocent, saying that he has the right to openly express his opinions and that Crimea's status was and remains in dispute.
Semena told RFE/RL on April 17 that the charge against him is "not legal but political." He said that while the Russian Constitution guarantees the freedom of expression, "in fact people are being prosecuted for that."
The witness who appeared in court on Aprill 18, Yulia Kozhemyakina, testified that she had seen the article that led to the charges against Semena. She had been enlisted by investigators to be present as a witness when they were examining the article on a web page.
But a lawyer for Semena, Emil Kurbedinov, said that Kozhemyakina was unable to answer some of the questions from the defense and did not appear to fully understand the witness statement that she had signed.
“When we asked, ‘Do you know what this technical term means?' the witness said [she] did not," Kurbedinov said.
Two other prosecution witness failed to show up for the court session.
The United States, the European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and international media watchdogs have expressed concern about Semena’s prosecution.
Activists say his trial is part of a persistent Russian clampdown on independent media and dissent in Crimea since Moscow’s takeover.
Russia seized control of the Ukrainian region in March 2014 after sending in troops, engineering a takeover of the administration, and staging a referendum that has been denounced as illegal by Kyiv, the United States, and a total of 100 UN member countries.
In March, the European Parliament called on Moscow to free more than 30 Ukrainian citizens who are in prison or face other conditions of restricted freedom in Russia, Crimea, and parts of eastern Ukraine that are controlled by Russia-backed separatists.
The European Parliament has urged Russia to allow Semena and the others listed to travel freely. Semena is barred from leaving Crimea and must seek permission from the Russian-imposed authorities to travel outside Simferopol.
In September, RFE/RL President Thomas Kent described the case against Semena as "part of a concerted effort by Russian and Russian-backed authorities to obstruct RFE/RL's journalistic mission to provide an independent press to residents of Crimea."
Semena’s trial began on March 20, but was swiftly adjourned until April 3 and was then adjourned again until April 18. The next trial date, May 3, is the UN-designated World Press Freedom Day.
That ends the live blogging today.
Reupping this, if you missed it earlier.