International Criminal Court issues President Putin's arrest warrants over war crimes charges

MOSCOW – International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin for failing to use his presidential powers to stop children being deported and called it “war crimes.”

It called out Putin for his suspected involvement in the unlawful deportation and transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia. The court prosecutor maintained that it has forensic evidence and scrutiny against Russian politicians.

The court further issued a warrant for a commissioner for children’s rights in the office of the Russian president, Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, on similar allegations.

Meanwhile, Moscow rejected the international court’s move as null and void. A statement issued by the Russian foreign ministry said the decisions of the International Criminal Court have no meaning for our country, including from a legal point of view.

It maintained that Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and currently holds no obligations under it.

On the contrary, ICC maintained that it has jurisdiction over crimes committed against anyone on the territory of Ukraine from November 2013 onwards.