ICC issues arrest warrant for Russia’s Putin

An arrest warrant has been issued Friday by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Russian President Vladimir Putin for the war crime allegations of unlawful deportation of children and that of unlawful transfer of children from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories.

As per ICC's press statement, the Pre-Trial Chamber II considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that both Putin and “Mother Russia”, officially known as Commissioner for Children's Rights for the Russian Federation Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, each bears individual criminal responsibility for having committed the acts directly, as well as conspiring with others.

Putin is also deemed responsible for failing to mange his military subordinates presumed guilty of committing the crimes thereof.

The crimes aforementioned were said to be committed in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion declaration by the Kremlin last February 24, 2022.

The two above-mentioned warrants of arrests were issued in 22 February 2023, a year shy of two days after Putin initiated war.

The ICC indicated that disseminating this information in spite of its confidential nature was necessary to encourage civilians to contribute to the prevention of the crimes being committed further.

Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak elatedly tweeted, “It's just the beginning.”