Blanket of smoke over Ukraine's Kharkiv as fire erupts at Eastern Europe's largest market

As the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine entered day 22 on Thursday, a massive fire is raging in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. According to Ukrainian media, Eastern Europe's largest market in Barabashovo in Kharkiv is under fire. Visuals of the fire depicted a massive cloud of black smoke that engulfed the entire area. The development comes amid Russia continuing its onslaught against Ukraine, including intensifying attacks on civilians.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops on Thursday also claimed to have inflicted a crushing blow to the Kherson airport that was earlier seized by Russian soldiers in the conflict. Ukraine reported on Thursday that its soldiers have attacked Kherson airport as part of a counter-offensive aimed at driving Russian troops out of Kyiv and other key Ukrainian cities.

Kherson was seized by Russia in the early days of war without any struggle. Control of Kherson allows Russia to reintroduce freshwater supplies to Crimea, which had been shut off by Ukraine following Russia's 2014 annexation of the peninsula. Moreover, Ukraine's military on Wednesday announced that it had initiated a counter-attack in Kyiv and other vital cities, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy requested the US Congress to provide more weapons and mount economic pressure on Russia.

Russia refuses to comply with ICJ order to stop Ukraine War

On Thursday, Russia has refused the demand of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to stop the war in Ukraine. Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov stated that the ICJ has a concept of 'consent of the parties,' and there was no such 'consent' to end the war, on Moscow's part.

"No, we cannot take this decision into account. The International Court of Justice has such a concept as 'the consent of the parties.' There can be no consent here," said Dmitry Peskov, as reported by Russia's state-affiliated media Sputnik

Earlier on February 25, Ukraine initiated proceedings against Russia and urged the court to call upon Putin to immediately halt all military actions in the territory of the former, pending the holding of a hearing. It claimed that Russia's rationale to commence a special military operation was based on a "lie" that genocide had been committed in Luhansk and Donetsk. Agreeing with this line of argument, the ICJ observed that Ukraine has a right to not be subjected to a military operation by Russia for the purpose of preventing and punishing a genocide in the territory of the former. 

A week after the arguments concluded, the ICJ on March 16, Wednesday announced its verdict. The bench headed by ICJ President John E. Donoghue, ICJ Vice President Kirill Gevorgian and other judges, touched on the evidence in the case filed, statements made by the officials of Ukraine and Russia, and opined that jurisdiction of the world body can be invoked. In its order, the court said that Russia shall immediately suspend the operation (13:2 votes), and shall stop all organisations controlled by it shall not take any more action (13:2 votes).

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