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⚖️ Ukraine’s foreign minister says ‘purely legal reasons’ prevent International Criminal Court from declaring Russia’s invasion a ‘crime of aggression’

Source: Meduza

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced on Wednesday that the International Criminal Court cannot declare Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to be a crime of aggression “purely for legal reasons.” Though wars of aggression exist as one of the crimes the court can judge, the ICC cannot apply this statute specifically to the case of Ukraine and Russia, Kuleba said without explaining further.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague commenced investigations on the situation in Ukraine in early March. Neither Russia nor Ukraine are state parties to the treaty that established the court, but Ukraine has exercised its prerogatives to accept the Court’s jurisdiction over alleged crimes under the Rome Statute occurring on its territory.

The International Criminal Court investigates and, “where warranted,” tries individuals charged with offenses including genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression.

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