ICC issues arrest warrant for Putin over suspected war crimes in Ukraine

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant against Russian President, Vladimir Putin, accusing him of being responsible for the war crime of illegal deportation of children from Ukraine.

In its first warrant for Ukraine, the ICC called yesterday for Putin’s arrest on suspicion of unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of people from the territory of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.

“The crimes were allegedly committed in Ukrainian-occupied territory at least from 24 February 2022. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes.”

“The world received a signal that the Russian regime is criminal and its leadership and henchmen will be held accountable,” Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said on social media.

Ukrainian officials hailed the “historic decision”.

“The world received a signal that the Russian regime is criminal and its leadership and henchmen will be held accountable,” Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said on social media.

“This is a historic decision for Ukraine and the entire system of international law,” Kostin added.

Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations that its forces have committed atrocities during its one-year military operation in its neighbouring country.

The ICC arrest warrants “have no meaning for our country, including from a legal point of view,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on her Telegram channel.

She added that Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty underpinning the world’s permanent war crimes tribunal.

Separately the court issued a warrant for Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, on the same charges.

Russia has not concealed a programme under which it has brought thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia but presents it as a humanitarian campaign to protect orphans and children abandoned in the conflict zone.

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan opened an investigation into possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Ukraine a year ago.

He highlighted during four trips to Ukraine that he was looking at alleged crimes against children and the targeting of civilian infrastructure.