Russia Rejects Allegations Of 'War Crimes' In Ukraine

On Tuesday, the Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov rejected the accusations about alleged war crimes brought by Ukraine against Russia before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

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Earlier, the CPI Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan announced that it will ask the judges to open an investigation for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by any of the parties throughout the territory of Ukraine.

If this investigation is authorized, it will address crimes committed on the Crimean peninsula and in the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The ICC investigation will also include crimes related to "the expansion of the conflict in recent days" in Ukraine.

“I have already tasked my team with exploring all evidence preservation opportunities,” Khan said.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine are signatories to ICC's founding Rome Statute. However, this international court also received two requests filed by Ukraine in Nov. 2013 and Feb. 2014. Through these actions, Kiev accepts the jurisdiction of the Court.

The ICC chief prosecutor's announcement came a day after the United Nations' International Court of Justice (ICJ) confirmed receipt of another lawsuit in which Ukraine accuses Russia of genocide.

On Tuesday, the Kremlin spokesman insisted that Russia is not attacking civilian targets and is only dealing blows to the Ukrainian military infrastructure. Nevertheless, the UN Human Rights Office has registered 102 deaths and 304 civilian injuries since the war began.