Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court are investigating alleged Russian cyberattacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure as possible war crimes. This was reported to Reuters by four sources familiar with the case, UNN reports.
According to media reports, this is the first confirmation that attacks in cyberspace are being investigated by international prosecutors, which could lead to the issuance of arrest warrants if enough evidence is collected.
According to one official, the investigation is looking into attacks on infrastructure that endangered lives by disrupting power and water supplies, interrupting connections to emergency services, or disabling mobile data services that transmit air raid warnings.
ICC prosecutors are working with Ukrainian teams to investigate "cyberattacks committed since the start of the full-scale invasion" in February 2022, said the official, who declined to be named because the investigation is not yet complete.
Two other sources close to the ICC prosecutor's office confirmed that they are looking into cyberattacks in Ukraine and said they could go back to 2015, the year after Russia seized and unilaterally annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine.
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The newspaper notes that Moscow has previously denied that it is carrying out cyberattacks, and officials have called the accusations attempts to stir up anti-Russian sentiment.
Ukraine is collecting evidence to support the ICC prosecutor's investigation.
On Friday, the ICC prosecutor's office declined to comment, but previously said it had jurisdiction to investigate cybercrime. It also said it could not comment on matters related to ongoing investigations.