On December 11, 2020, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced that the ICC had completed its preliminary examination of the situation in Ukraine and was prepared to launch a formal investigation. The ICC is reviewing alleged “war crimes and crimes against humanity” committed in Ukraine during military operations, while in detention, and regarding the situation in Crimea.
RIA Novosti reported on the ICC’s preparations to investigate events in Ukraine, noting the sources of information considered: “As Bensouda stated, the assessment also took into account ‘national proceedings’ initiated by Russia that are relevant to the situation in Ukraine.”
TASS covered the ICC’s intent to open an investigation, detailing the legal basis and next steps: “The next step,” Bensouda said, “will be to request authorization from the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber to proceed with the investigation.”
RT Russian published a brief update: “The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is prepared to begin investigating crimes committed on Ukrainian territory.”
Izvestia reported that the preliminary review highlighted three clusters of crimes: those committed during combat, during detentions, and in Crimea.
Interfax shared the ICC’s findings: “Following a thorough and independent process, I can today announce that the criteria for opening an investigation into the situation in Ukraine have been met... My Office has concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe a wide range of acts amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Ukraine, falling within the Court’s jurisdiction.”
Regional outlets such as Donetsk’s DAN and Luhansk’s LIСs did not publish news on this development.
Major British outlets like The Guardian and The Telegraph, as well as The New York Times, did not report on this development.
Le Figaro reported on “the ICC prosecutor’s desire to investigate crimes committed in Ukraine since 2014,” emphasizing “the cooperation of Ukrainian authorities” and the Court’s jurisdiction: “Ukraine has not signed the Rome Statute — the international treaty that established the ICC — but it has formally accepted the Court’s jurisdiction over crimes committed on its territory.”
Major Italian and Spanish media outlets did not publish any coverage of this story. Eastern European outlets also remained silent.
RBC-Ukraine reported on the completion of the ICC’s review and initiation of the case: “ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has concluded her review of the materials and is initiating an investigation into the situation in Ukraine following Russian aggression. Ukraine appealed to the ICC six years ago.”
LB.ua covered the next procedural step after the ICC review: “Next, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the ICC Prosecutor’s Office must decide whether to open a full investigation into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the context of armed conflict. These include killings, enforced disappearances, torture, persecution of Ukrainians for political and religious beliefs, deportations of Crimea’s population to mainland Ukraine, and the colonization of the peninsula.”
Author · Apr 10, 2025
