The administration of US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday, escalating tensions with the international judicial body and potentially straining relations with European allies.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the measures aim to prevent the ICC from prosecuting American citizens and restrict the court’s resources and operations.

Washington has criticised the ICC over arrest warrants issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials, as well as its past investigation into alleged crimes by US personnel in Afghanistan.

The ICC condemned the sanctions as an “assault on the rule of law” and vowed to continue its investigations and prosecutions. It also urged its 125 member states to defend the court’s independence.

The announcement came hours after former ICC judge Navi Pillay was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, with the Nobel committee highlighting the importance of international justice amid political pressure on legal institutions.

The sanctions threaten to deepen the dispute between Washington and the ICC, raising concerns about international judicial cooperation and the court’s ability to carry out its work.

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared ​Kushner will meet Ukrainian representatives on Friday in Miami to discuss new ‌ideas and try to produce a unified proposal for resolving the war in Ukraine, an American source familiar with the plan said on Thursday.

Earlier on Thursday, US Secretary of State ​Marco Rubio said the conflict was at a dangerous stalemate. President Donald ​Trump this week said he planned to talk to Russian ⁠President Vladimir Putin by phone soon, Reuters reported.

Trump, whose efforts to resolve the conflict ​have so far not succeeded, has been trying to arrange trilateral talks ​between Russia, the US and Ukraine.

The source said Witkoff and Kushner would hold a working session with the Ukrainians to discuss “new ideas and proposals that American negotiators began developing ​with the Russians and Ukrainians during their recent visit to the ​region”.

The meeting will include representatives from the White House National Security Council and US Treasury ‌Department, ⁠the source said. Ukraine’s chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov, intelligence chief Rustem Umerov, and top negotiator David Arakhamia will represent Kyiv.

The American negotiators also invited national security advisors from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, as well ​as officials from NATO ​and the ⁠European Union, read the report.

They are expected to discuss proposals for security guarantees for Ukraine, a post-war prosperity plan, and other aspects ​of the conflict, the source said.

The source said the ​Europeans had ⁠told the United States of their frustration with high energy costs and other major financial impacts of the conflict.

“It will be a tough winter if ⁠the ​war does not stop. So, the United States ​is trying to mediate with the sides with the goal of creating a unified proposal,” ​the source said.

Russia has begun sabotage operations against Danish companies supplying Ukraine after concluding that broader disruption efforts failed to curb Western ​military support for the country, Reuters quoting a Danish intelligence official said on Wednesday.

The ‌shift reflects a significant escalation in Moscow’s hybrid warfare campaign, the official, from the Danish national security and intelligence service (PET), told a homeland security conference in Copenhagen.

“What we saw in the spring was a lot ​of planning, but very little carried out; what we saw in early summer ​is that they started to carry out a lot more,” the official ⁠said.

Russia concluded that its previous broad-spectrum targeting “did not have the effect of deterring the ​Western (military alliance) NATO from supporting Ukraine,” the official added, and while Moscow maintains political control over ​operations, its operational boldness is growing and Russia is now “trying to hit targets that have a direct impact on the front line. That means weapons production.”

Moscow has repeatedly denied involvement in sabotage or hybrid warfare operations. The ​Russian embassy in Copenhagen rejected the allegations on Wednesday, accusing Danish authorities of ​making unfounded accusations against Russia, read the report.

The official cited a Russian defence ministry list of alleged European drone and drone ‌component ⁠manufacturers that Moscow said in April amounted to potential military targets, without elaborating further.

Russia is increasingly using untrained proxies — including homeless people and people addicted to drugs — recruited via Telegram and other social media platforms. Recruitment typically starts with low-threshold tasks such as ​reconnaissance or photography, then ​escalates toward actual ⁠sabotage operations, PET has said.

“It could be anyone just looking for quick money,” the official said. “If the first person isn’t successful, they’ll ​throw another one at the problem until they succeed.”

Denmark’s defence ​intelligence service ⁠last month said Russia is likely to intensify hybrid attacks against the West in coming months, after Germany blamed Russia for an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport in August.

In September 2025, ⁠before ​Denmark hosted an EU summit, drones disrupted air traffic at ​six Danish airports, including Copenhagen, the Nordic region’s busiest, in what Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called a ​hybrid attack on her nation.