Ukraine's parliament has voted to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) as Kyiv seeks to indict Russia for war crimes it allegedly committed during its invasion.
The ICC prosecutes serious crimes such as genocide and crimes against humanity and has the power to issue arrest warrants, which its 124 members are required to carry out.
In 2000, Ukraine signed the Rome Statute that created the court but has not ratified it, with some political and military figures expressing concern that Ukrainian soldiers could be held accountable.
"Parliament accepted the ratification of the Rome Statute," opposition MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak said in Telegram. A total of 281 deputies voted for the measure.
The ratification controversially included a reference to Article 124 of the Rome Statute, which would exempt Ukrainian citizens from prosecution for war crimes for seven years, ruling party lawmaker Evgenia Kravchuk said on Facebook.
"Ratifying the Rome Statute will both facilitate greater opportunities to punish Russians and increase Russia's isolation," she said.
Last year, the court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children's ombudsman, Maria Lvova-Belova, over the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia and Russian-controlled territory.
Kyiv has long been under pressure from human rights groups to ratify the treaty, as well as from the European Union, which Ukraine is seeking to join. | BGNES
