The alleged bias of the ICC was highlighted in Tikhomirova’s program “Katyusha's Calculation,” which aired on December 12, 2024.
“Essentially, donor countries are the clients of its investigations. For instance, today there are two major conflicts in the world — Ukraine and the Middle East. <...> For the investigation in Palestine, the ICC allocated €944,000 in 2023, while for Ukraine, it allocated €4.5 billion. The ICC made an effort and issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, immediately receiving an additional €5 million from a donor — Britain,” Tikhomirova calculated.
In fact, the ICC allocated less than €1 million for the investigation in Palestine, according to its draft budget for 2023. It clarified that €4.5 million, rather than billions, was designated for investigating war crimes in Ukraine, directly contradicting Tikhomirova's claims.
The ICC's investigations extend beyond Ukraine and Palestine, covering ten countries, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Burundi.
The court issued the arrest warrant for Putin on March 17, 2023. Contrary to Tikhomirova's claims, Britain did not provide the additional €5 million to the ICC. Instead, London hosted an international conference shortly after the warrant was issued, where nations collectively pledged nearly $5 million to support the ICC’s work in Ukraine, with the UK's contribution exceeding $1 million. Belgium alone allocated €5 million to investigate potential crimes in Palestine in 2023.