International Criminal Court plans first arrest warrants for Russia's Ukraine invasion: report

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022, has brought the worst fighting in Europe since World War 2. And members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have been united in their opposition to President Vladimir Putin and the war.

Now, the International Criminal Court's prosecutor, Karim Khan, according to Guardian reporter Julian Borger, has decided to "formally open two war crimes cases" and "issue arrest warrants for several Russians" in connection with the Ukraine invasion.

But this comes at a time when the Pentagon, according to the New York Times, is blocking the Biden Administration from sharing evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine with the ICC. The Times' Charlie Savage, on March 8, reported that Pentagon officials "oppose helping the (ICC) investigate Russians because they fear setting a precedent that might help pave the way for it to prosecute Americans."

READ MORE:Pentagon blocks evidence of Russia's war crimes from International Criminal Court

Borger reports that Khan plans to "ask pre-trial judges to approve arrest warrants on the basis of evidence collected so far."

"If successful, it would mark the first time ICC warrants had been issued in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine," according to Borger. "It is not clear if the warrants would be sealed, which would leave suspects guessing over whether they had been implicated…. Reports of imminent arrest warrants come just over a year after Khan opened an investigation into possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Ukraine. Over the past 12 months, he has made three trips to Ukraine and visited sites of alleged war crimes."

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Read The Guardian's full report at this link.