Ukraine confident International Criminal Court will pursue ‘Russian war crimes’ despite Trump's sanctions

Ukraine's foreign ministry asserts that the International Criminal Court will persist in addressing Russian war crimes

Ukraine believes that the work of the International Criminal Court in relation to Russian war crimes will continue after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the organisation, Kyiv's foreign ministry said on Friday.

U.S. President Donald Trump put sanctions on the International Criminal Court, but Ukraine expects the court will continue to investigate Russian war crimes, Kyiv's foreign ministry said Friday (AFP)

Trump authorised economic and travel sanctions targeting people who work on International Criminal Court investigations of U.S. citizens or U.S. allies such as Israel.

The ICC is a permanent court that can prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression against the territory of member states or by their nationals.

"We are convinced that the ICC will continue to fulfil important functions in Ukraine's case, in particular bringing Russian war criminals to responsibility," foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said at a press briefing in Ukraine's capital.

"We know that relations between the U.S. and ICC have a long history," said Tykhyi.