The International Criminal Court (ICC) has opened an office in Kiev, “the largest” outside The Hague, Ukrainian Attorney General Andriï Kostin announced on Thursday.
“The International Criminal Court’s external office has opened its doors in Ukraine,” Kostin declared on the social network X (formerly Twitter), emphasizing that this is “a decisive step towards the restoration of justice.”
Ukraine is seeking to establish a special court to indict Russian leaders following the invasion of the country, which began on February 24, 2022.
Kiev had announced in March the early opening of an ICC office in the country to “more fully investigate international crimes in Ukraine”.
“Unlike the Russian criminal system, Ukraine has nothing to hide,” said Andriï Kostin, who promised that the country will be “transparent” and give ICC experts access to “crime scenarios, evidence and testimonies.”
“We are doing everything in our power to ensure that ICC experts can see first-hand the consequences of the attacker’s crimes and draw independent conclusions.” he claimed.
“Together with the entire civilized world, we are united in one goal: to ensure that the aggressor is held accountable for the crimes committed,” the prosecutor added.
At the same time, an international office tasked with investigating the crime of “aggression” against Ukraine was opened in early July in The Hague, which Kiev says marks a “historic” first step toward the creation of a special court.
This International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA) brings together prosecutors from Kiev, the European Union (EU), the United States and the ICC.
The ICC, based in The Hague, also issued an arrest warrant in March for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accused of the war crime of forcibly deporting Ukrainian children.
The military offensive that Russia launched in Ukraine in February 2022 has caused the worst refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945), according to UN data, and has caused a large number of casualties in the past eighteen months. both soldiers and civilians, impossible to count as long as the conflict continues.
The invasion – justified by Putin with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by most of the international community, which has responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions on to impose on Russia.
Source: DN
