The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced on Friday (March 17) that it had issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes committed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which the president welcomed. Ukrainian Vladimir Zelensky called such a decision. “historical“.
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“Today, March 17, 2023, the Second Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court issued two arrest warrants in connection with the situation in Ukraine: Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Ms. Maria Alekseevna Lvova-Belova.The Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights in Russia, the ICC said in a statement.
Cheese Fries”allegedly responsible for the illegal displacement of the population (children) and the illegal transfer of the population (children) from the occupied territories of Ukraine to the Russian Federation;added the court. “The crimes were allegedly committed on the territory of occupied Ukraine at least since February 24, 2022.“, the ICJ continued, adding that there is “strong grounds to believe that Vladimir Putin is personally responsible for the above crimes“.
Deportation of Ukrainian children
According to Kyiv, more than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the invasion, and many have been placed in institutions and foster homes. During the meeting in the Kremlin on February 16, Maria Lvova-Belova herself told Vladimir Putin that she “accepted“A child from Mariupol, a Ukrainian city that was destroyed by the Russian army before it was conquered in the spring of 2022.”Now I know what it’s like to be a mother of a child from Donbas, it’s hard work, but we love each other, that’s for surehe told the Russian president. “We evacuated the children’s homes to safe areas, organized their rehabilitation and prosthetics, and provided them with targeted humanitarian aid.“, he added.
Monday that New York Times reports that the ICC is preparing to prosecute the Russians for transporting children to Russia and deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. After a visit to Ukraine earlier this month, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said the alleged child abductions were “subject of priority examination“.
Joe Biden on Friday considered this arrest warrant “justified”. The American president, in a conversation with reporters at the White House, reminded that the institution was not recognized by the United States, but considered that his decision was sent anyway. very strong signal.
“Insignificant”
Russian diplomacy immediately condemned the statements.”insignificantof the ICC. “The decisions of the International Criminal Court are meaningless for our country, including from a legal point of view“Because Moscow has no obligations towards him,” Russian diplomacy spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote in Telegram, not mentioning Vladimir Putin’s name in her message. “Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and has no obligations under it“Maria Zakharova emphasized, adding that Moscow”.do not cooperatewith the court.
He warned that “Arrest (warrants) issued by the International Criminal Court will be legally insignificantFor Russia. “The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin. No need to explain where this paper should be used“For his part, former President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Twitter, ending his message with an emoticon of toilet paper.
The Kremlin decided that the arrest warrant has no legal value because Russia does not recognize this court. “Russia, like a number of states, does not recognize the jurisdiction of this court, therefore, from the point of view of the law, the decisions of this court are null and void.Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the Russian President, informed the journalists about it. The Rome Statute is the founding text of the ICC, located in The Hague, Netherlands.
“This is just the beginning,” says Kiev
Kyiv was quick to welcome the ICC’s announcement, saying that “This is just the beginning“. The Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelensky, in turn, welcomed the decision.”historical“. “International leaders will think twice before shaking his hand“General Prosecutor of Ukraine Andrey Kostin added in a statement about Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kouleba responded on Twitter, welcoming the fact that “the wheel of justice turns“. “I welcome the ICC’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Vladimir Cheese fries and Maria Lvova-Belova“His commissioner for children,” he added. International criminals will be prosecuted for child theft and other international crimes“.
Mykhailo Podoliak, another official of the presidency of Ukraine, believes that with this decision “the world has changed“. “It is the beginning of the end for Russia in its current form on the international stage.“, he said on Twitter.
The United Kingdom welcomed this decision. “We welcome the independent ICC’s move to compel those at the top of the Russian regime, including Vladimir Putin, be accountableBritish Foreign Minister James Cleverley announced it on Twitter. For the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, this mandate “important decision“WTO”This is just the beginning of the process of holding Russia and its leader accountable for the crimes and atrocities they are committing in Ukraine. There can be no impunity“.
Several international officials have requested an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin from the ICC, such as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the early days of Russian troops’ invasion of Ukraine. Recently, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said that Putin’s trial at the ICC “possibility“.
The ICC, created in 2002 to try the world’s worst crimes, has been investigating possible war crimes or crimes against humanity committed during the Russian attack for more than a year. Neither Russia nor Ukraine are members of the ICC, but Kiev has accepted the court’s jurisdiction over its territory and is working with the prosecutor. Russia denies accusations of war crimes. Experts have acknowledged that he is unlikely to hand over any suspects.
Source: Le Figaro
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.