After years of hesitation and despite opposition from the military, Ukraine’s parliament has voted to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) in hopes of punishing Russia for alleged war crimes it has committed in Ukraine.

The issue is particularly sensitive in the country, as many fear that Ukrainian soldiers fighting against the Russian army will in turn be targeted by the International Criminal Court, which is tasked with prosecuting perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

A total of 281 MPs voted in favor of ratifying the Statute of Rome, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court.

This decision will create the greatest chance of punishing the Russians and will strengthen Russia’s isolation, MP Evgenia Kravchuk, who belongs to the party of President Volodymyr Zelensky.

According to her, Ukraine invoked Article 124 of the Statute of Rome, which allows any Ukrainian, civilian or military, to be exempted from any prosecution by the International Criminal Court for war crimes for seven years.

The ratification of the statute is part of Kiev’s commitments to the EU, Kravchuk explained.

Irina Gerashchenko as well as her party, the opposition European Solidarity, voted against the proposal.

Gerashchenko even spoke of difficult discussions in parliament before the vote. The army asked for the ratification to take place after martial law was lifted, as she pointed out on Telegram. No one has explained what will happen after the seven-year exemption provided for in Article 124, she stressed.

With information from: AMNA

Also read: Armenia | Parliament ratifies membership in the International Criminal Court