The International Criminal Court intends to open two war crimes cases tied to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and will seek arrest warrants for several people, The New York Times reported citing sources unauthorized to speak publicly.
The cases are first international charges to be brought forward since the start of the conflict, the newspaper reports. The charges allege Russia deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure and abducted Ukrainian children and teenagers and sent them to Russian re-education camps.
The chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, must first present his charges to a panel of pretrial judges who will decide whether the legal standards have been met for issuing arrest warrants, or whether investigators need more evidence. It was not clear whom the court planned to charge in each case.
Photo: A file photo of an image by photojournalist Zohra Bensemra of the hand of a Ukrainian woman killed in Bucha is seen behind Democratic Senator from Rhode Island Sheldon Whitehouse (R) during a Senate Judiciary Committee about war crimes in Ukraine in the Hart Senate office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 28 September 2022. EPA-EFE/JIM LO SCALZO
