A Ukrainian official said Tuesday that the nation plans to sue Russia in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) [official website] on claims of financing terrorism. The claims surround the Russian annexation of Donbas and Crimea. Pavlo Petrenko, the Justice Minister for the Ukraine [official website, in Ukrainian], told press that the pretrial procedure has already commenced [Interfaxt report]. This suit is one of many the minister anticipates to come against Russia from the Ukraine this year. The ICJ is the paramount judicial body for the United Nations.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has continued to be a prevalent topic ever since the Crimean Annexation [JURIST backgrounder] in March 2014. In December the UN issues a report about serious human rights concerns [JURIST report] that persist in the Ukraine. In August a Russian military court sentenced [JURIST report] two Ukrainian activists to substantial jail time for the charge of conspiring to commit terror attacks. In March the EU committed to stand by [JURIST report] its policy of refusing to recognize Crimea’s annexation, as they purport the illegality of Russia’s referendum. In February Russian liberal political activist Boris Nemtsov was shot in the back four times [BBC report] in the middle of busy downtown Moscow. Nemtsov was openly politically opposed to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its role in Ukraine, and many believe Vladimir Putin ordered [JURIST report] the killing. The conflict has often been labeled the biggest crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War. US President Barack Obama has strongly condemned [JURIST report] Russia’s military intervention in the region as a violation of international law.