The International Criminal Court announced on Friday that it had issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the “illegal deportation” of Ukrainian children.
The Hague-based ICC said it had also issued an arrest warrant for Russia’s presidential commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Livova-Belova, on similar charges.
In a statement, the ICC said, “Today, in the context of the situation in Ukraine, ICC Pre-Trial Chamber II issued arrest warrants for two individuals: Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Mr. Maria Alexeyevna Livova-Belova.”
According to AFP, Putin was “allegedly responsible for the war crimes of the illegal deportation of people (children) and the illegal transfer of people (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”
The ICC said the crimes date back to February 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine.
“There are reasonable grounds to believe that Putin bears personal criminal responsibility for the above-mentioned crimes,” the statement said.
Putin is said to be directly responsible for carrying out these acts and for the “failure to exercise proper control over the civilian and military subordinates who carried out these acts or allowed them to be carried out.”
It said the arrest warrant was kept confidential to protect victims and witnesses.
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