International Criminal Court issues arrest warrant for Putin over war crimes in Ukraine

This is reported on the International Criminal Court's official website. 

“Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court issued warrants of arrest for two individuals in the context of the situation in Ukraine: Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Ms Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova,” the statement says. 

The ICC explained that the arrest warrants are related to the alleged war crimes of Putin and Lvova-Belova. Namely, they are responsible for the illegal deportation of the Ukrainian population, including children.

Maria Lvova-Belova is the Children's Ombudsman in Russia.

Ukraine's Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin has commented on the situation.

“Outside of Russia, Putin should be arrested and put on trial. And world leaders will think twice before shaking their hands or sitting down with him at the negotiating table. The world has received a signal that the Russian regime is criminal and that its leadership and accomplices will be brought to justice. This is a historic decision for Ukraine and the entire system of international law,” Kostin said in a statement.

The deportation of more than 16,000 children from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions has been recorded. But the real number may be much higher.

The Russian officials have already reacted to the ICC's decision.

“The decisions of the International Criminal Court have no significance for our country, in particular from a legal point of view. Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and is not bound by it. Russia does not cooperate with this body, and possible 'recipes' for arrest issued by the International Court of Justice will be legally null and void for us,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted.