Putin is accused of war crimes in Ukraine.
(Photo: dpa)
The Hague, Riga The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. The ICC said on Friday that Putin is allegedly responsible for the illegal deportation of children and resettlement from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.
An arrest warrant was also issued against the children’s rights commissioner in Putin’s presidential administration, Maria Lwova-Belowa. Based on the prosecutors’ motions of February 22, the court concluded that there were reasonable grounds to believe that Putin and Lvova-Belova were responsible for the aforementioned war crimes.
In a video statement on the decision, ICC President Piotr Hofmański pointed out that international law prohibits “the transfer of civilians from the territory in which they live to other territories.” Hofmański also referred to the special protection that that children enjoy according to the Geneva Conventions.
According to researchers at Yale University, Lvova-Belova is “one of the most heavily involved figures in Russia’s deportation and adoption of Ukrainian children” and “the use of camps to ‘integrate’ Ukrainian children into Russian society and culture.” A research group from the US elite university formulated these allegations in February in a widely acclaimed report, supported by the US State Department.
The arrest warrants would be published differently than usual because the crimes are believed to be ongoing and public disclosure could help prevent further commissions of crimes.
Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote on Twitter of a “clear signal to the Russian elites” of what will happen to them. “This is the beginning of the end of the Russian Federation in its current form on the world stage,” Podoliak said.
Rumors of the warrants being issued had been circulating for a few days. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Tuesday that Russia does not recognize the ICC. An extradition of Putin and Lwova-Belova is considered unlikely.
With agency material.
More: Independent UN investigation accuses Russia of war crimes