On 28 February, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan announced his decision to open up an investigation into the situation in Ukraine. On Thursday, Khan said that an advance team of ICC experts had departed for the country.
"For eight years nobody has cared about people who suffered from shelling and now suddenly cases will be investigated on behalf of Ukraine - there is some sort of contradiction here. That is why I do not even want to comment on this issue. No one has cared about people for eight years," Yulia Leonova, a Donbass resident who filed a lawsuit with the ICC, said.
According to the young woman, she received a shrapnel wound during an attack by Ukrainian troops in August 2014. About a year and a half ago she sought redress at the ICC, which ignored her case.
"Nothing. A complete and total silence. I think they just do not give a hoot about us," Leonova said, when asked if there was any response.
She went on to add that Russia's special military operation has instilled hope in the locals that things could be looking up.
"I think that what is currently going on in Donbass may force someone to give it some thought and there will be some progress regarding this matter," Leonova said.
Last Thursday, Russia began a special operation to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine, responding to calls for help from the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics in countering the aggression of Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defence Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine.
On Saturday morning, the Russian military declared a ceasefire at Kiev's request so that civilians could evacuate from the cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha. By mid-day, the Donbass authorities said that no local civilians were able to access the humanitarian corridors because of being blocked by Ukrainian troops. The Russian military has accused Kiev of taking advantage of the ceasefire to regroup troops rather than facilitate civilian evacuations.