The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Monday that his office will seek court approval to investigate alleged war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.
The ICC will open a formal investigation “as rapidly as possible,” he wrote.
“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,” wrote Khan.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine last week, rights groups have alleged violations of international war crimes law, including the targeting of civilians, as well as indiscriminate attacks on schools and hospitals.
Ukraine and its allies on Monday called for a United Nations inquiry into possible war crimes committed by Russia during its military actions in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba on Feb. 25 called for an investigation following reports that Russian forces shelled a kindergarten and an orphanage the Ukrainian city of Okhtyrka, in Sumy region.
“Today’s Russian attacks on a kindergarten and an orphanage are war crimes and violations of the Rome Statute,” he wrote on Twitter. “Together with the General Prosecutor’s Office we are collecting this and other facts, which we will immediately send to the Hague.”
“Responsibility is inevitable,” Kuleba added.
The United Nations Human Rights Council voted on Monday to accept Ukraine’s request to hold an urgent debate on Thursday on Russia’s invasion. A Ukrainian draft resolution denouncing the invasion will be considered at the urgent debate.
Prosecutor Khan said his office would seek support and funding from the ICC’s 123 member states for investigations. “The importance and urgency of our mission is too serious to be held hostage to lack of means,” he said.
Alleged violations dating back to 2014 will be probed, Khan said. The year is when Ukraine recognized the court’s jurisdiction following Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Although neither Russia nor Ukraine are members of the court in The Hague, Ukraine gave it authorization over war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“There is a reasonable basis to proceed with opening an investigation,” Khan’s statement said. “In particular, 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.”
Since Putin authorized a “special military operation” against Ukraine, the United Nations said civilian deaths have surpassed 100, and the death toll is likely to be considerably higher as many reported casualties have yet to be confirmed.
“The picture is grim—and could get worse still. Aerial attacks and fighting in urban areas are damaging critical civilian facilities and disrupting essential services such as health, electricity, water and sanitation, which effectively leaves civilians without the basics for day-to-day life,” United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said.
Khan will have to first obtain authorization from a pre-trial chamber of the court before launching an investigation.
An estimated 13,000 people have died in Eastern Ukraine since conflict broke out in 2014.
The Kremlin on Tuesday responded to the accusations of war crimes saying that it “categorically denies” the claims.
Meanwhile, Putin claims that Ukraine’s current pro-EU government in Kyiv has committed genocide in the Donbass by trying to exterminate Russian speakers in the region of Eastern Ukraine that borders Russia. Western leaders and media have called the claims “baseless,” while the U.S. State Department in January said the claims were Russian “disinformation.”
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