The International Criminal Court is supposed to investigate possible war crimes in the war against Ukraine. For this purpose, the court has now opened an office in Kiev. The Ukrainian government guarantees full transparency.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has opened an office in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. The aim is to document and investigate possible war crimes in the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin spoke of a “decisive step on our path to restoring justice.” The Kiev office is the court’s largest branch outside of The Hague, where the ICC has its headquarters, Kostin wrote on news service X, formerly Twitter.
Volodymyr Zelenskyj made similar comments in a video message published on Thursday evening. He hopes that the International Criminal Court can help restore “justice for our entire people.”
“Aggressor” Russia should be “held accountable”
Kostin assured the ICC staff full transparency and complete access to crime scenes, evidence and witness statements. “Unlike the criminal Russian regime,” Ukraine has “nothing to hide.” The Attorney General emphasized: “We are doing everything possible to ensure that the ICC experts can see with their own eyes the consequences of the aggressor’s crimes and draw independent conclusions.”
Back in March, the Ukrainian government agreed to open an office of the court in Kiev – to ensure “that the aggressor is held accountable for all crimes committed,” Kostin continued. Ukraine wants a special court to be set up to hold Russia accountable for the war. An international institution to investigate the crime of “aggression” against Ukraine was founded in The Hague in July.
Allegations of torture, kidnapping and intentional killing
The ICC, based in The Hague, has been prosecuting particularly serious offenses such as war crimes since 2002. Not all states recognize the court, including the USA, China and Russia.
Russia is accused of several war crimes in Ukraine. A United Nations investigative commission also spoke of, among other things, alleged torture and intentional killing in a report that was published in March. The Russian military is also said to be responsible for the abduction of children. Shortly afterwards, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin because of this accusation. An arrest warrant was also issued against the children’s rights commissioner in Putin’s presidential administration, Maria Lwowa-Belowa.