Russlands president Vladimir Putin.
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17. mars 2023 16:11 – Updated March 17, 2023 4:22 p.m
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The ICC also issues an arrest warrant for Russia’s children’s ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova.
The ICC accuses Putin of being responsible for war crimes committed in Ukraine. Russian authorities have repeatedly denied the accusations.
The arrest warrants are largely seen as symbolic as Russia, like countries such as the US, China and India, does not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction.
Planning two war crimes trials
Earlier this week it became known that the ICC is planning two war crimes cases and several arrest warrants against Russia in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.
The two cases include accusations of abduction of Ukrainian children and targeted attacks against civilian infrastructure, write New York Times. The newspaper refers to former and current ICC officials with knowledge of the case. The sources are not authorized to comment publicly on the matters.
Abduction and retraining of children
Reuters also has sources that provide similar information.
These are the first formal international charges since the outbreak of war. They come after several months of efforts by special investigators.
Russia is accused of abducting Ukrainian children and young people and sending them to Russian re-education camps. In addition, the ICC therefore believes that Russia has deliberately attacked civilian infrastructure.