The Office of International Criminal Court Prosecutor issued a report regarding the previous investigation before 2018, which repeated the assessment of the events in Crimea after the start of the Russian aggression - its annexation is an international armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
"In 2016, the Office made public its assessment that the situation within the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol would amount to an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation which began at the latest on 26 February 2014, and that 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 ongoing state of occupation.19 This assessment, while preliminary in nature, provides the legal framework for the Office’s analysis of information concerning crimes alleged to have occurred in the context of the situation in Crimea since 20 February 2014,” the report says.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine officially announced the beginning of the temporary occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia on February 20, 2014. International organizations recognized the occupation and annexation of Crimea illegal and condemned the actions of Russia. Western countries have introduced a number of economic sanctions. Russia denies the occupation of the peninsula and calls it "the restoration of historical justice."
