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00:00 to the Hague now and our correspondent Ferdinand von Tetz.
00:03 Ferdinand, tell us more about what's happening in court today.
00:06 So we're really hearing the greatest hits from Russia this morning in their opening
00:12 statements, calling the Ukrainian regime a neo-Nazi regime, as they said it,
00:18 denying any involvement in the shooting down of MH17 and saying it was Ukraine
00:23 that is responsible for the suppression of the people of the Donbass
00:26 and for the shelling and killing of civilians there.
00:29 Now, the Dutch ambassador, the Russian ambassador to the Netherlands
00:33 in a statement also said that the dam
00:37 that was mentioned by Ukraine in its opening statement on Tuesday as well,
00:41 that that was brought down by Ukraine, but using massive artillery shelling,
00:46 as he said it.
00:48 And so even though this case dates back to the annexation of Crimea in 2014,
00:52 the present is still very present here in the courtroom as well.
00:56 They say Ukraine built their case on disinformation and fake facts.
01:01 Their lawyers have now been outlining pretty precisely why the convention
01:06 on the suppression of the financing of terrorism, which is one of the two treaties
01:09 this case is about, how that does not apply to MH17,
01:13 because the airliner was brought down by mistake and therefore the intent
01:17 clause of that treaty is not present.
01:19 Now, Ukraine will get a chance to speak back on Tuesday.
01:23 Next week, we'll have one more day of arguments from Ukraine and from Russia
01:26 before the judges draw back to deliberate.
01:29 Now, we're hoping to have a verdict before the end of the year,
01:32 but it could take a bit longer than that.
01:34 Well, what exactly is at stake here?
01:36 I mean, what penalty could Russia potentially face if it's found responsible?
01:40 So the court could force Russia to pay damages if they're held responsible.
01:48 And actually, the ambassador started by saying how much respect
01:52 he had for this court and for international law.
01:55 Russia, of course, does want to see itself as a legitimate player on the world stage,
01:59 even though in practical terms, this court can't do very much.
02:03 If the state fails to comply with what is done,
02:05 you can take the matter to the UN Security Council.
02:08 Russia, of course, is a vetoing member there, so they could always veto
02:11 anything that comes up there.
02:12 So in practical terms, it's not that important, but it still feels very important
02:16 to Russia diplomatically.
02:18 I mean, if you look, Ukraine has been trying to get Russia held accountable,
02:22 be seen as a terrorist state for things like MH17, not just here, but also,
02:26 for example, at the European Court of Human Rights.
02:28 There's been a case in the Dutch courts and Russia, you know, in Strasbourg.
02:32 They show up here. They show up.
02:34 They sent a huge legal team.
02:37 There's another case here brought by Ukraine, which was started last year.
02:41 There, Russia on the first hearing didn't show up, but now they're here in force
02:44 and they do care and they really did say how important international law is to them.
02:49 And they want to be seen as, you know, a legitimate player on the world field.
02:52 They don't want to be seen as a rogue state.
02:54 OK, our correspondent Ferdinand Vantetz reporting for us from The Hague.