Arrest Warrant for Vladimir Putin Issued for Ukraine War Crimes
Following his invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes.
According to reports from the BBC, the ICC said Putin’s war crimes were committed after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The court’s claims are focused on the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia. The court said in a statement that it had good reason to suspect that Putin committed some of the criminal acts directly and, at times, worked in concert with others to conduct the crimes.
According to the organisation, President Putin also failed to use his presidential powers to stop the deportation of children. Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, who has reportedly spoken about efforts to indoctrinate Ukrainian children taken to Russia in the past, is also wanted by the ICC for war crimes.
The court initially contemplated keeping the warrant private but ultimately decided to make it public in the hopes doing so could deter future offences. Putin’s detractors, such as Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin and the Czech Republic’s Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky, praised the ICC’s move against the president, while Russian supporters have dismissed the claims. Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president, even likened the search warrant to toilet paper.
“No need to explain WHERE this paper should be used,” Medvedev wrote on Twitter.
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The Russian government has refuted the accusations and said it does not recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC. The court has no power to apprehend suspects and can only exercise jurisdiction within the countries that have signed up to its agreement, which Russia has not.
As it is improbable that Putin will be extradited, it’s doubtful that Putin will be particularly bothered by the warrants. But it may affect Putin’s ability to travel freely throughout the globe, as other ICC signatory countries could help with his arrest.
