The International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. The court in The Hague announced this on Friday. Putin is said to be responsible for the deportation of Ukrainian children from occupied territories to Russia. The judges had granted a request from Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan to issue an arrest warrant.

It is the first arrest warrant issued by the court in connection with alleged war crimes in Ukraine. The court also issued an arrest warrant for Maria Lwova-Belova, the Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights. She is also charged with war crimes related to the deportation of Ukrainian children.

Putin must be held accountable as commander. The suspicion is justified that he did not sufficiently monitor his civilian or military subordinates. The exact text of the arrest warrants will not be released to protect victims and witnesses, the court said.

However, it is unlikely that Putin will actually appear in court in The Hague. Russia does not recognize the court. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a press conference on Thursday about possible arrest warrants against Russians: “Russia is not cooperating with the body. And possible “prescriptions” for detention emanating from the International Court of Justice are legally null and void for us.” The decisions of the court have no meaning for Russia. In addition, the court is not allowed to conduct trials in the absence of the accused.

Although Ukraine has not ratified the Rome Statute of the International Court of Justice, Kiev recognizes the jurisdiction of judges for crimes against humanity and war crimes against Ukraine committed on Ukrainian territory since 2014. In 2015, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin issued a similar statement in The Hague. Shortly after the outbreak of war, chief prosecutor Khan had already launched an investigation in Ukraine. (sda/dpa)