Crime watch: ICC prosecutor is monitoring Ukraine invasion

The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor has put combatants and their commanders on notice that he is monitoring Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has jurisdiction to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- The International Criminal Court's prosecutor has put combatants and their commanders on notice that he is monitoring Russia's invasion of Ukraine and has jurisdiction to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity.

But Prosecutor Karim Khan acknowledged that he cannot investigate the issue that is being most talked-about at this stage of the invasion — the crime of aggression.

Western leaders have widely condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin's order to invade Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday said the invasion “was always about naked aggression, about Putin’s desire for empire by any means necessary," while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called it “Vladimir Putin's war of aggression.”

While the global treaty that established the Hague-based court in 2002 has been updated to include the crime of aggression since 2018, Khan said he does not have jurisdiction over that because neither Ukraine nor Russia is among the court's 123 member states.