International Criminal Court preparing investigation into Russia for war crimes
Rachel Schilke
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The International Criminal Court is opening two war crimes investigations tied to Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine that will involve several arrest warrants.
These will be the first international charges levied in connection with the war, which marked its one-year anniversary in late February, and they come after investigative teams worked for months, several current and former officials told the New York Times.
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One case will focus on an allegation that Russia abducted children and teenagers and sent them to reeducation camps, and the other will allege that the Kremlin deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure during its attacks.
Chief prosecutor Karim Khan must present his information to several pretrial judges, who will then decide whether the legal standards were met to send out arrest warrants or if investigators need to gather more evidence.
It is unclear whom the court will specifically charge in each case, but outside diplomats and experts say Russian President Vladimir Putin could be one of the targets of the arrest warrants. Immunity is not recognized by the criminal court to heads of state in cases involving war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide, per the New York Times.
“We do not publicly discuss specifics related to ongoing investigations,” the prosecutor’s office said when asked to confirm arrest warrant requests.
Investigators have been gathering strong evidence against Russia since the beginning of the war. In 2022, Ukrainian forces took back the town of Bucha and discovered bodies of bound and shot civilians, and Russian forces also bombed a train station full of fleeing families.
Diplomats and world leaders have condemned Russia for war crimes, but members of sitting governments and militaries rarely face international prosecution.
The Kremlin has denied that it has committed war crimes, and it is unlikely a trial will occur as the court does not operate in absentia — Russia is unlikely to surrender any officials served with arrest warrants.
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Moscow has presented its reeducation program as a humanitarian mission to protect children abandoned from the war, but investigators have claimed Russian forces took children from orphanages and group homes and sent them to the homes of Russian citizens or to summer camps.
“I have repeatedly said that children must no longer be the forgotten victims of conflict,” Khan said on March 7 after completing his fourth visit to Ukraine. “These alleged acts are being investigated by my Office as a priority. Children cannot be treated as the spoils of war.”