The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
The ICC said in a statement on Friday that Putin is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of children, and that of unlawful transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russia since Feb. 24, 2022 – the day the Putin ordered a wide-scale invasion in the neighbouring country.
The ICC cited the charges under articles in Rome Statute of the ICC.
“There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others and for his failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts, or allowed for their commission, and who were under his effective authority and control, pursuant to superior responsibility,” the court said.
It also issued an arrest warrant for Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, commissioner for children’s rights in the office of the president of the Russian Federation, under the same charges.
Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations that its forces have committed atrocities during its one-year invasion of its neighbour. The Kremlin did not immediately respond to the charges.
More to come.
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