TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th March, 2022) Canada's Federal police will conduct an investigation under domestic legislation into allegations of war crimes committed by Russia during its special military operation in Ukraine, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday.
Earlier in the day, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino announced that Ottawa would make a "significant contribution" to the International Criminal Court's (ICC) ongoing investigations, including the investigation into the conflict in Ukraine.
"The (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) will ... undertake their own investigation under Canada's War Crimes Program," Trudeau told a news conference in Vancouver.
Last month, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan announced his decision to open an investigation into possible war crimes in Ukraine. Later, Khan said that an advance team of ICC experts had departed for the country.
Russia began a special operation to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine last month, responding to calls for help from the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics in countering the aggression of Ukrainian troops.
Moscow has vociferously rejected claims that Russian troops have violated conventions regulating armed conflict, while Donbas residents have accused the ICC and other international bodies of ignoring Ukrainian aggression against the breakaway Russian-speaking region over the past eight years.
