Ukraine invasion: ICC prosecutor says team has started probe into alleged 'war crimes'

An advance team left the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for the Ukraine region on Thursday to start investigating possible war crimes, its top prosecutor told Reuters in an interview.

Their departure comes hours after Prosecutor Karim Khan announced he would start collecting evidence as part of a formal investigation launched after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

"Yesterday I formulated a team and today they are moving to the region," Khan said.

Khan said his office would be examining possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide by all parties in the conflict. 

Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24, launching an offensive on several towns and cities. 

Amnesty International has already published reports of "indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas and strikes on protected objects such as hospitals" following the invasion. 

"Indiscriminate attacks violate international humanitarian law (the laws of war) and can constitute war crimes," the rights organisation said last Friday.