Ukraine appeals to International Criminal Court after prison attack

KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s foreign ministry condemned an attack on a prison in territory held by Russian-backed separatists on Friday, and appealed to the International Criminal Court over what it said were Russian war crimes.

Russia said Ukraine carried out Friday’s attack, in which it said about 40 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed, and has denied involvement in any war crimes in Ukraine.

“We call on the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to urgently draw attention to the atrocities of Russian servicemen in the context of the investigation of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by citizens of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine,” the Ukrainian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Such alleged crimes, it said, coincided with “another war crime by Russia – shelling of penal institutions in occupied Olenivka, where it is believed that Ukrainians were held prisoners of war.”

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Editing by Timothy Heritage)