The Ukrainian government has expressed hope that US sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) will not hinder investigations into alleged Russian war crimes. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhiy Tykhyi stated that Kyiv does not believe the US decision is related to Ukraine and expects the ICC to continue its work on Russian aggression. His comments were reported by RBC Ukraine.
The sanctions, introduced through an executive order by former US President Donald Trump, prohibit ICC officials and their families from entering the US and freeze their US-based assets. The measure targets the ICC’s investigations into alleged war crimes by US soldiers in Afghanistan and Israeli military forces in Gaza. The EU, France, and the Netherlands criticized the sanctions, while Israel welcomed the move.
The ICC, established in 2002, has 125 member states and is currently investigating Russia’s actions in Ukraine, including possible war crimes and crimes against humanity. Yale’s School of Public Health had already released a report alleging the systematic nature of children’s deportations, claiming that Russian authorities coordinated the transfers using state resources. It suggests that the program, aimed at placing Ukrainian children within Russian families, is part of a broader effort to erase Ukrainian identity.