ICC passes arrest warrant against Russia’s Putin for crimes in Ukraine

Evacuating civilians from Ukrainian suburbs destroyed by the Russian invasion
Evacuating civilians from Ukrainian suburbs destroyed by the Russian invasion

QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Friday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes committed in Ukraine.

The ICC said in a statement that 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 cited the charges under Rome Statute articles of the ICC.

“There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others,” the statement read.

The ICC also issued an arrest warrant against Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, commissioner for children’s rights in the office of the president of Russia, for the same crimes.

However, Russia has repeatedly denied such accusations for crimes it allegedly committed during the war against Ukraine that started on Feb. 24 of 2022.