War crimes court issues Putin arrest warrant

THE HAGUE: The International Criminal Court on Friday announced an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on the war crime accusation of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children.

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.

Moscow dismissed the orders as “void”. Russia is not a party to the ICC so it was unclear if or how Putin could ever end up in the dock. War-battered Ukraine welcomed the ICC announcement, with President Volodymyr Zelensky hailing the “historic decision”.

The court’s shock notice came hours after other news with the potential to significantly impact Russia’s war on Ukraine, including a Moscow visit from Chinese leader Xi Jinping and more fighter jets for Kyiv´s forces.

More than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the February 24, 2022 invasion, according to Kyiv, with many allegedly placed in institutions and foster homes.

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan told AFP that Putin was now liable for arrest if he set foot in any of the court´s more than 120 member states.

He said the arrest warrants were “based upon forensic evidence, scrutiny and what´s been said by those two individuals”.

“The evidence we presented focused on crimes against children. Children are the most vulnerable part of our society,” said Khan.

The ICC said judges found there were “reasonable grounds” to suspect Putin´s criminal responsibility and grant Khan´s application for the warrants, which were made back on February 22.

ICC President Piotr Hofmanski said the execution of the warrants “depends on international cooperation”.

The arrest warrant for Putin, a sitting head of state of a UN Security Council member, is an unprecedented step for the ICC.

The Kremlin dismissed the warrants.”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,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev compared the warrants to toilet paper, while foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said they “have no meaning” for Russia.

The ICC´s Khan however said there were “so many examples of people that thought they were beyond the reach of the law”.

“Look at (Slobodan) Milosevic or Charles Taylor or (Radovan) Karadzic or (Ratko) Mladic,” he said, referring to a series of war criminals from the former Yugoslavia, and former Liberian president Taylor, who have faced justice.

Earlier in the day, Beijing and Moscow announced that Chinese leader and strategic ally Xi would be in Russia next week to sign accords ushering in a new era of ties.

The United States has accused China of mulling arms shipments to support Russia´s campaign -- claims Beijing has strongly denied.