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Int'l Criminal Court launches probe of possible war crimes in Ukraine

Ukrainians gather at a train at Kyiv Main Railway Station on Monday while attempting to flee the city amid escalating violence from the Russian invasion. Photo by Roman Pilipey/EPA-EFE
Ukrainians gather at a train at Kyiv Main Railway Station on Monday while attempting to flee the city amid escalating violence from the Russian invasion. Photo by Roman Pilipey/EPA-EFE

Feb. 28 (UPI) -- The International Criminal Court in The Hague announced Monday it is opening an investigation of possible war crimes committed in Ukraine from 2014 through Russia's ongoing invasion of the country.

Court prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan said that after reviewing preliminary findings covering the 2013-14 protests against pro-Russian former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, as well as the subsequent annexation of Crimea and battles with Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas region, there is enough evidence of war crimes to merit a prosecution.

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The case also would include allegations of crimes against humanity stemming from the current invasion, Khan said.

The move was announced as Ukrainian officials claimed dozens of civilians were killed and wounded in the city of Kharkiv on Monday as Russian forces unleashed a major escalation of the violence.

"I wish to announce that I have decided to proceed with opening an investigation into the situation in Ukraine, as rapidly as possible," the prosecutor said in an issued statement.

Though not a member state of International Criminal Court, Ukraine has accepted the court's jurisdiction in two applications -- one covering alleged crimes committed on Ukrainian territory from November 2013 to February 2014 and another extending the period on an open-ended basis from February 2014 onward.

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The court completed an initial investigation of the applications in December 2020, but judges previously had not allowed the case to move forward. That changed Monday.

"I am satisfied that there is a reasonable basis to believe that both alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Ukraine in relation to the events already assessed during the preliminary examination by the office," Khan said.

"Given the expansion of the conflict in recent days, it is my intention that this investigation will also encompass any new alleged crimes falling within the jurisdiction of my office that are committed by any party to the conflict on any part of the territory of Ukraine," he added.

Evidence has been mounting that Russia is using indiscriminate cluster bomb munitions on Ukrainian cities, which are outlawed under international law.

Amnesty International reported that a preschool in northeastern Ukraine was hit with a cluster bomb Friday while civilians took shelter inside. Three died in the attack, including a child, while another child was wounded, the group said.

The attack "appears to have been carried out by Russian forces, which were operating nearby, and which have a shameful record of using cluster munitions in populated areas," Amnesty said.

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It was the fourth attack on a school during the invasion that has been verified by the group.

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