Ukraine asks ICC to investigate alleged crimes in late 2013-early 2014

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Ukraine on Thursday invited the International Criminal Court to open an investigation into any serious international crimes that may have been committed on its territory in late 2013 and early 2014, the court said in a statement. The invitation, in the form of a declaration accepting the court's jurisdiction for the period between November 21 and February 22, does not ask the court to investigate Russia's formal military involvement in Ukraine's Crimea province, which began on February 27. Ukraine's parliament earlier this year urged the ICC to investigate crimes allegedly committed by former President Viktor Yanukovich in an attempt to put down the protests that eventually toppled him and drove him into Russian exile. The court's prosecutors are not obliged to investigate. (Reporting by Thomas Escritt; editing by Andrew Roche)