International Criminal Court issues Putin arrest warrant over child deportations from Ukraine

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin citing his alleged involvement in the kidnapping of Ukrainian children.

A warrant was also issued on Friday for Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the commissioner for the rights of children in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, after the ICC declared “there are reasonable grounds to believe that each of the suspects is unlawfully detained.” responsible for the war crime. Deportation of the population and illegal transfer of the population from the occupied territories of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, at the prejudice of Ukrainian children.”

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Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he delivers his annual State of the Nation address in Moscow, February 21, 2023. (Sergei Karpukhin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

The US is not a member of the ICC and neither assists nor accepts the authority of the judicial body.

The ICC wrote that Putin is “allegedly responsible for the war crime of illegal deportation of the population (children) and illegal transfer of the population (children) from the occupied territories of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”

What is the ICC issuing Putin’s arrest warrant and what are the consequences?

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova rejected the arrest warrant, saying “the decisions of the International Criminal Court have no meaning for our country, including from a legal point of view.”

“Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and does not bear obligations under it,” Zakharova said. “Russia does not cooperate with this body, and a potential ‘recipe’ for arrest from the International Court of Justice would be legally null and void for us.”

A view of the exterior of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. (AP Photo/Peter DeJong, File)

Ukraine’s General Prosecutor Andrey Kostin expressed happiness over the decision.

Kostin said, “Now, if Putin leaves Russia, he will be arrested and surrendered to the ICC.” “World leaders will think twice before shaking hands or sitting across the negotiating table with Putin. This is another clear signal to the world that the Russian regime is criminal.”

While the court was established as an international judicial body with the signing of the 1998 Treaty of Rome, the ICC began de facto operations in 2002, based in The Hague, Netherlands.

To date, 123 countries have ratified the treaty and ratified the court’s authority in international prosecution.

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The court’s task is to prosecute perpetrators of the worst crimes, including genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. It has global jurisdiction and is intended as a last resort when national governments are unable or outright refuse to prosecute.

Last year, the ICC announced it had launched the largest “single field” investigation since its inception 20 years ago into war crimes committed during Russia’s deadly war in Ukraine.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin attends an extended board meeting of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office in Moscow on Wednesday. (Pavel Bednyakov/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)

A team of 42 investigators, forensic experts and support personnel has been sent to Ukraine to provide assistance to authorities investigating war crimes.