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Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Andriy Kostin (right), with Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan
Photograph:
IMAGO/Hennadii Minchenko / IMAGO/Ukrinform
The International Criminal Court has opened an office in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv to investigate alleged Russian war crimes. It is the largest branch of the court outside its headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his evening video address on Thursday. The international investigation is helping to restore "justice for Ukraine and for all our people," he added.
Previously, the press office of the Criminal Court had already shared photos of the opening of the office on platform X (formerly Twitter). It also shows Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan. Last March, he issued arrest warrants against Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and Russian children's commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
According to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Andriy Kostin, the opening of the office in Kiev marks a "decisive step on our way to restoring justice".
Ukraine is seeking the establishment of a special court to hold the Russian leadership accountable for the war of aggression that began in February 2022. In July, an international institution was founded in The Hague to investigate the crime of "aggression" against Ukraine.
The ICC, based in The Hague, has been prosecuting particularly serious offences such as war crimes since 2002.
atb/dpa/AFP