The International Criminal Court (ICC) has begun investigating possible war crimes in Ukraine.
Court prosecutor Karim Khan said the investigation was requested by 39 countries, including Belgium, Canada and Iceland.
With referrals from member states, Kahn can begin the investigation.
This survey covers actions in Ukraine since November 21, 2013. This investigation investigates allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide committed by someone in Ukraine.
“Our work in gathering evidence has just begun,” Khan said in a statement. “We called on all those engaged in hostilities in Ukraine to adhere to the applicable rules of international humanitarian law,” he said.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, and since then Russian troops and Ukrainian personnel have been fighting.
The report nailed the Belarusian army in the fight, but the Belarusian president denied them.
Kahn told Reuters that the pre-team had left the court in the Netherlands and was on its way to the Ukrainian region.
“Yesterday I formed a team, and today they are moving to the area,” Khan said.
During the preliminary examination, Khan’s team had already found “reasonable grounds” for believing that the crime had been committed in Ukraine and identified possible cases of investigation.
US President Joe Biden said it was premature to say that Russia was committing war crimes in Ukraine, but Senator Lindsey Graham (Republican) and Victoria Spartz (Republican) said the action. Announced a resolution in support of.
“The entire international community needs to blame this. It’s a crime. It’s a pure killing of an individual, not a war,” Spartz told a briefing in Washington.
Several leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, have said Russia is committing war crimes.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine are members of the Hague court, but Ukraine has granted permission for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of committing war crimes. In one example, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russia had bombarded kindergartens and orphanages in the city of Okhtyrka. Kreva described the bombardment as a “war crime and a violation of Roman law,” adding that authorities were collecting evidence to send to The Hague.
Russian officials defended the aggression and accused Ukrainian troops of committing atrocities in the Donbus area. This is what Russian President Vladimir Putin recently admitted to being independent.
“I have sent several signals to Kyiv and its western puppeteers that violence in Donbus needs to be stopped in order to comply with a series of measures in Minsk, but I have never heard of them. Russia has these. After acknowledging the independence of the republic, the artillery did not stop, but in reality the artillery increased and continues today, “Russia’s UN representative Jennadi Gatilov said at a meeting in Geneva.
“In this situation, it was decided to carry out a special operation to stop the tragedy in Ukraine. There was no other option. This operation is essentially targeted. , No fires have occurred at private sites. “
Isabel van Brugen contributed to this report.
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Zachary Stieber covers US and world news. He is based in Maryland.