The International Criminal Court has now launched an investigation into actions in Ukraine at the request of 39 countries. This is an important step in the global condemnation of the Russian invasion.
Individual states, the European Union and the African Union have been lining up to condemn Russian president Vladimir Putin. Leaders, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, have already accused Putin of war crimes while backing the ICC’s investigation.
Some experts have highlighted the difficulties of using international law to condemn Russia, and the investigation will examine the actions of all parties involved in the conflict. But the ICC does have the ability to charge Putin with war crimes if it finds evidence he has committed them.
