Though Russia was a signatory of the Rome statute that created the tribunal, it had not ratified the agreement and was not subject to the court’s jurisdiction.
Russia annexed the region of Ukraine known as Crimea in 2014, in the wake of the country’s president being ousted from power.
The largely symbolic move also comes as a number of countries have accused Russia of war crimes over its support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his country’s civil war.
More about: