An arrest warrant was issued by the International Criminal Court for Russian President Vladimir Putin on the 17th local time.
The International Criminal Court, ICC Pre-Trial Chamber said in a statement, “There are reasonable grounds to hold President Putin responsible for the war crimes of the ‘illegal removal’ of children from occupied Ukraine.”
The judge said that such a crime began at least on February 24 last year, the day of the invasion, and added that “they are responsible for failing to properly control the civilian and military subordinates who committed the act.”
This is the first time the ICC has officially identified a high-ranking Russian figure as a suspect since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in February last year.
Reuters reported that it is the third ICC arrest warrant issued by the head of state after former President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan and dictator Muammar Gaddafi of Libya.
