Ukraine could extradite suspected Russian war crimes to the International Criminal Court (ICC) even though Moscow is not a member, the tribunal’s prosecutor said Thursday.
Kiev authorities could send Russians to the court in The Hague if trials cannot take place in Ukraine for legal reasons, ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan said.
Russia, which invaded Ukraine on February 24, refused to join the International Criminal Court when the Court was established in 2002 to try people for crimes including war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
“Legally yes, it would not constitute an obstacle to our jurisdiction,” Khan said at a press conference at the headquarters of the EU justice body Eurojust.
“Certainly if there was a need… and there was a reason why these processes could not take place in Ukraine, be it due to some by-laws we have or not, I’m sure we will get the cooperation from Ukraine would,” he added.
The ICC launched its own probe into the war in Ukraine shortly after the Russian invasion, but said it was keen for Ukraine to bring suspects to justice where possible.
Khan declined to say when the ICC expects to bring its own first indictments, saying it will wait until “evidence is sufficient”.
“We’re moving forward, we have a focus, but I will make announcements when the time is right,” he said.
Kyiv has already convicted 10 people for crimes committed during the Russian invasion, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said at the press conference.
She has indicted a total of 186 people, mostly in absentia, and filed court papers for 45 people.
Ukraine, meanwhile, will face war crimes charges over Russia’s bombing of Kiev and other cities this week, Kostin said.
“Every hit of every missile, every drone, every damage to civilian infrastructure, every Ukrainian killed or wounded by these missile attacks, all are documented and criminal cases have been initiated,” he said.
Ukraine’s allies have pledged more powerful air defense systems after days of devastating Russian attacks, which President Vladimir Putin described as retaliation for a deadly explosion on a Crimean bridge.
Several Western leaders have labeled the Russian strikes as war crimes.
Romania, meanwhile, said it had joined an international investigative team investigating war crimes, along with Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Slovakia, as well as Eurojust and the ICC.
