Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at a ceremony for Russia’s Navy Day in St. Petersburg on July 30, 2017.

ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin has allegedly committed war crimes in Ukraine, the ICC said in a Friday statement. 
He’s been accused by the court of orchestrating involvement in illegally transferring children from Ukraine to Russia. 

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, alleging he is responsible for war crimes committed in Ukraine.

Putin is “allegedly 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 ICC said in a Friday statement.

The Netherland’s based court alleged these crimes have been carried out since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022. 

The ICC’s announcement comes a day after the United Nations published a report that detailed violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by Russian forces in Ukraine. The UN said many of the actions, including the transfer and deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia, “amount to war crimes.” 

“It is forbidden by international law for occupying powers to transfer civilians from the territory they live in to other territories. Children enjoy special protection under the Geneva Conventions,” ICC President Judge Piotr Hofmański said in a video posted to social media. 

The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, who is the commissioner for children’s rights in the Kremlin’s presidential office, for war crimes allegations similar to those raised against Putin. 

Hofmański said in the video that ICC judges issued the arrest warrants, but that the execution of these warrants will depend on …read more

Source:: Businessinsider