The world is in shock as the International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for none other than Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes committed in Ukraine, specifically the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia. While Moscow has dismissed the order as “outrageous,” the western world is welcoming the move as a “symbolic step” towards holding those responsible for the horrific war accountable. Although it is unlikely to result in Putin’s arrest, the warrant could impact his international travel. This latest development is sending shockwaves through the international community and will undoubtedly have far-reaching implications.
The International Criminal Court accused the President of the Russian Federation of committing war crimes in Ukraine and has thereby issued an arrest warrant for the same. The court alleges that Vladimir Putin is responsible for the unlawful deportation of countless children from Ukraine to Russia. ICC claims that the crimes were committed since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine from 24th February 2020 onwards
The International Criminal Court issued a statement saying that there were reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Putin committed these war crimes intentionally along with coordination of other Russian-State officials.ICC further accused Putin of misusing his presidential powers and being ‘gravely irresponsible’ on his part in the failure to stop the children from being deported. The arrest warrant is also issued for Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights Maria Lvova-Belova who has been accused of similar crimes.
The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber of judges further informed that they considered keeping the arrest warrants a secret, and issuing them directly to the Russian Ministry, however, it was later decided to make them public as they could help in preventing the further commission of any war crimes in Russia.
Moscow labels ICC arrest warrant as “outrageous”
The reactions to the warrant from the Russian Ministry came within the minutes of the announcement with the Kremlin officials instantly dismissing it and even calling the order ‘outrageous’. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev went a step further and compared the arrest warrant to useless toilet paper. He further tweeted, “ No need to explain WHERE this paper should be used ” along with toilet paper emoji
Kremlin spokesperson Dimitri Peskov also mentioned that Russia found the allegations and the questions which were raised to be very outrageous and unacceptable. The Russian opposition leaders called this a victory against the autocratic regime under Vladimir Putin they welcomed the announcement and termed it as a ‘symbolic step’.Ivan Zhdanov a close ally of one of the main opposition leaders in Russia: Alexei Navalny, tweeted that this action by International Criminal Court is indeed a symbolic step. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelinsky said that he was thankful to the International Criminal Court for pressing charges and penalizing the Russian Federation. Moreover, he termed Russia as a ‘state evil’
The Kremlin was defiant in the face of the international criminal courts’ announcement. “The decision of the International Criminal Court has no meaning for our country including from a legal point of view ” The Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharov mentioned on her telegram channel. She further clarified that since Russia is NOT a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and has not ratified the statute, therefore Russia faces no obligation under it.
Putin’s arrest warrant was welcomed wholeheartedly by their western counterparts. European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief Joseph Barull termed the order as ‘starting a process of accountability. Britain’s Foreign Secretary James Cleveland Further said ‘those who are responsible for this horrific war must be bought to justice’.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine is a member of the international criminal court although Kyiv granted its jurisdiction to prosecute the crimes completed on the territory since Russia has not ratified the treaty it is unlikely that the Russian president will be arrested as of now.
