For its responsibility for war crimes committed in Ukraine since the Russian invasion, the International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Friday it had issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Today, 17 March 2023, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for two individuals in connection with the situation in Ukraine: Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Ms. Maria Alexeyevna Lvova-Belova” , presidential commissioner for children's rights in Russia, the ICC said in a statement.
On Monday, the New York Times reported that the ICC was preparing to prosecute Russians for transferring children to Russia and for deliberate strikes on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said earlier this month after a visit to Ukraine that the alleged child abductions were "under investigation on a priority basis". The ICC, created in 2002 to try the worst crimes committed in the world, has been investigating for more than a year possible war crimes or crimes against humanity committed during the Russian offensive.
Russian diplomacy denounced the "meaningless" and "insignificant" decisions of the ICC. "The decisions of the International Criminal Court are meaningless for our country, including from a legal point of view", because Moscow has no obligation towards it, wrote on Telegram the spokeswoman for Russian diplomacy Maria Zakharova, without mentioning Vladimir Putin by name in her message. "Russia, like a number of states, does not recognize the jurisdiction of this court, therefore, from the point of view of law, the decisions of this court are null and void," the doorman told reporters. -word of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov.
"We welcome the step taken by the independent ICC to hold those at the top of the Russian regime, including Vladimir Putin, to account," British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Twitter.
Those responsible for horrific war crimes in Ukraine must be brought to justice. We welcome the step taken by the independent ICC to hold those at the top of the Russian regime, including Vladimir Putin, to account. Work must continue to investigate the atrocities committed.
