Russia did not attend an International Court of Justice hearing in a lawsuit brought by Ukraine seeking to halt hostilities on its territory because of the “absurdity” of the suit, Russia’s foreign ministry said on Twitter  its first public statement on the matter.

Russia did not attend hearings on Monday at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which is the UN court for resolving disputes between nations.

Ukraine argued that Russia had wrongly tried to justify its invasion on false assertions that it was attacking in self defence to prevent genocide.

Ukraine argued that Russia had wrongly tried to justify its invasion on false assertions that it was attacking in self defence to prevent genocide.