International Criminal Court Begins Investigation into Russia's War Crime Allegations

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced on the 2nd (local time) that it has launched an investigation into Russia's alleged war crimes.

The ICC Prosecutor stated that, at the request of 39 member states, the collection of evidence regarding war crimes in Ukraine has begun.

Prosecutor Karim Khan said in a statement, "I recently informed the ICC Presidency of the decision to conduct an active investigation into the situation in Ukraine," adding, "The collection of evidence has started." He explained, "The investigation covers both current and past allegations of war crimes."

He continued, "The scope includes crimes against human dignity and allegations of genocide occurring on Ukrainian territory," emphasizing, "Considering the publicly available potential evidence, there are reasonable grounds to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Ukraine."

Prior to this, the ICC had conducted preliminary investigations into war crimes during the 2014 Donbas war, where the Ukrainian government forces clashed with pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Donbas region, and the war crimes committed when Russia forcibly annexed Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula (Keurim Peninsula).

On the same day, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed in Parliament that "Putin has committed war crimes" as civilians in Ukraine were bombed.

The Russian military is reported to have killed hundreds of civilians, including children, and shelled residential areas and nearby regions during its attacks on Ukraine. Ukraine has reported over 2,000 civilian deaths, but the exact number remains unconfirmed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky classified Russia's attacks as "terrorism," stressing, "This attack on Kharkiv is a war crime."

The number of people fleeing Ukraine due to Russia's invasion has surpassed one million, marking the fastest refugee exodus of this century. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency's tally released to AP, more than 2% of Ukraine's population crossed borders within less than a week of the invasion.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.