Ukrainian Parliament ratifies Rome Statute, strengthening path to EU membership

The Ukrainian parliament on Wednesday ratified the Rome Statute, the foundational treaty of the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to parliamentarians Yaroslav Zheleznyak and Oleksiy Honcharenko.

A total of 281 MPs supported the ratification.

Ukraine signed the Rome Statute in January 2000 but had not previously ratified it. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed the ratification to parliament on August 15, highlighting it as a crucial step in Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union. Irina Mudra, assistant to the president, emphasized that the ratification would enhance the ICC’s ability to address “crimes committed by Russian citizens on Ukrainian territory.”