ICC Issues Arrest Warrant for Putin Over ‘War Crimes’, Ukraine Says Wheels of Justice Are Turning
The International Criminal Court on Friday issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him for the war crime of “unlawful deportation” of children from Ukraine.
In its first warrant for Ukraine, the ICC accused the 70-year-old President of Russia of allegedly being responsible for the “war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”
“The crimes were allegedly committed in Ukrainian occupied territory at least from 24 February 2022,” it added.
The Hague-based ICC said it had also issued a warrant against Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s presidential commissioner for children’s rights, on similar charges.
The statement noted that based on the Prosecution’s applications of 22 February 2023, there are “reasonable grounds to believe that each suspect bears responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population and that of unlawful transfer of population from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, in prejudice of Ukrainian children.”
The ICC said it sees reasonable grounds to believe that Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the crimes, either for committing them directly, jointly with others and/or through others.
While, Russia and Ukraine are not member states of the International Criminal Court, a referral to the ICC in 2015 by Ukraine gives the court jurisdiction over war crimes committed on its territory, even if committed by Russian nationals or those of other non-member states, according to a Reuters report.
‘This is Just the Beginning’
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba lauded the ICC decision. “Wheels of Justice are turning: I applaud the ICC decision to issue arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova over forcible transfer of Ukrainian children. International criminals will be held accountable for stealing children and other international crimes,” he said in a social media post.
Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said the arrest warrant against the Russian President was just an initial step in restoring justice over Russia’s invasion. “The Hague Chamber of the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin. This is just the beginning,” Yermak said on social media.
Ukraine’s Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin also hailed the warrants, calling it a historic decision. “The world received a signal that the Russian regime is criminal and its leadership and henchmen will be held accountable,” Kostin said in a statement on social media. “This is a historic decision for Ukraine and the entire system of international law.”
Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak said the decision was “a clear signal to (Russian) elites of what will happen to them and why it won’t be ‘as before’”.
Warrant for Putin ‘Void’, Says Kremlin
Meanwhile, Russia has responded to the ICC warrant for Putin and said it has ‘no meaning’ and is ‘legally void’. “The decisions of the International Criminal Court have no meaning for our country, including from a legal point of view,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on social media.
“Russia is not a party of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and bears no obligations under it,” she added. “Russia does not cooperate with this body and possible ‘recipes’ for arrest coming from the international court will be legally void as far as we are concerned,” she said without naming Putin.
The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also made a similar statement and said: “Russia, just like a number of different countries, does not recognise the jurisdiction of this court and so from a legal point of view, the decisions of this court are void.”
