ICC describes situation in Crimea as ‘international armed conflict’

This is stated in the report on preliminary examination activities in the case "The situation in Ukraine", released by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Fatou Bensouda on November 14.

"The information available suggests that the situation within the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol amounts to an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation," the report reads.

According to the document, the international armed conflict began at the latest on 26 February when “the Russian Federation deployed members of its armed forces to gain control over parts of the Ukrainian territory without the consent of the Ukrainian Government.”

At the same time, according to the prosecutor, "the law of international armed conflict would continue to apply after 18 March 2014 to the extent that the situation within the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol factually amounts to an on-going state of occupation."

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