The International Criminal Court has confirmed that Russia would be investigated for suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.

Its chief prosecutor confirmed on Monday night that he plans to open an investigation 'as rapidly as possible'.

It comes after Amnesty International condemned Russia for an alleged attack on a pre-school, which it said could constitute a war crime.

Prosecutor Karim Khan said in a statement that his investigation will look at alleged crimes committed before the Russian invasion began last week – but added: 'Given the expansion of the conflict in recent days, it is my intention that this investigation will also encompass any new alleged crimes falling within the jurisdiction of my office that are committed by any party to the conflict on any part of the territory of Ukraine.'

The court has already conducted a preliminary probe into crimes linked to the violent suppression of pro-European protests in Kyiv in 2013-2014 and allegations of crimes in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, and eastern Ukraine.

In December 2020, the then-ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said the probe uncovered indications that 'a broad range of conduct constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity within the jurisdiction of the Court have been committed' in Ukraine.

However, the court's prosecutors had not yet sought permission from judges to open a full-scale investigation.

A man walks past a building damaged following a rocket attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022.
Russia has been accused of using cluster munitions (Picture: AP)

Mr Bensouda's successor Mr Khan says he will now open the investigation envisaged by his predecessor and broaden it to include crimes committed in fighting since the Russian invasion of Ukraine last week.

Meanwhile, human rights charity Amnesty said 'a 220mm Uragan rocket dropped cluster munitions on the Sonechko nursery and kindergarten in the town of Okhtyrka in Sumy Oblast' on Friday.

It pointed the finger at Russia and added: 'The strike may constitute a war crime.'

Amnesty said three people were killed in the attack, including a child.

FILE - Karim Ahmed Khan, International Criminal Court chief prosecutor, speaks during a news conference at the Ministry of Justice in the Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021. The International Criminal Court's prosecutor has put combatants and their commanders on notice that he is monitoring Russia's invasion of Ukraine and has jurisdiction to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity. But, at the same time, Prosecutor Karim Khan acknowledges that he cannot investigate the crime of aggression. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali, File)
Prosecutor Karim Khan is opening the investigation (Picture: AP)

Cluster munitions scatter or release smaller munitions or bomblets over a wide area, increasing the potential for casualties and damage.

More than 100 countries have committed never to use the weapons under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, including the UK, but neither Russia nor Ukraine have signed the agreement.

Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty, said: 'It is stomach-turning to see an indiscriminate attack on a nursery and kindergarten where civilians are seeking safe haven. Plain and simple, this should be investigated as a war crime.