• The International Criminal Court (ICC) said Friday it has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for responsibility for war crimes committed in Ukraine since the Russian invasion.
  • According to the ICC, Vladimir Putin "is presumed responsible for the war crime of illegal deportation of population (children) and illegal transfer of population (children) from the occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation."
  • 20 Minutes looks back at this arrest warrant issued on a Friday afternoon while since February 24 accusations of "war crimes" have proliferated against the Kremlin.

A "historic decision", according to the Ukrainian prosecutor's office. The International Criminal Court, created in 2002 to try the world's worst crimes, said Friday it had issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The ICC has been investigating possible war crimes or crimes against humanity committed during the Russian offensive that began on February 24, 2022, 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. On Friday, while Russia denies the allegations, the court ruled that the head of the Kremlin was "personally responsible" for the "war crime of illegal deportation of population (children)". Explanations.

Where does this international arrest warrant come from?

The International Criminal Court (ICC) said Friday it has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for responsibility for war crimes committed in Ukraine since the Russian invasion. "Today, 17 March 2023, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants against two individuals in connection with the situation in Ukraine: Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Ms Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova", the Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights in Russia, the ICC said in a statement.

What war crimes are involved?

Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, international organizations have accused the Russian authorities of orchestrating the "forced displacement" of thousands of Ukrainian minors, which President Volodymyr Zelensky has described as war crimes and crimes against humanity, calling it "kidnappings", "forced adoptions" and the "+ re-education +" of Ukrainians. Russia, of course, claims to protect "refugee" children.

Still, according to the ICC communiqué, Vladimir Putin is now "presumed responsible for the war crime of illegal deportation of population (children) and illegal transfer of population (children) from the occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation". "The crimes were allegedly committed on the territory of Ukraine occupied at least from 24 February 2022," the ICC continued, adding that there were "reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Putin is personally responsible for the aforementioned crimes."

Why is the arrest warrant being issued this Friday?

On Monday, the New York Timesreported that the ICC was preparing to prosecute Russians for transferring children to Russia and for deliberate strikes on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. This is not to mention that ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said earlier this month, after a visit to Ukraine, that alleged abductions of children were "under priority investigation".

On Thursday, a group of UN investigators, which also points to possible crimes against humanity, said Russia's transfer of Ukrainian children to areas under its control in Ukraine as well as to its own territory constituted a "war crime". "We will continue these investigations if our mandate is extended" in early April by the Human Rights Council, promised Erik Mose, one of the three commissioners in charge of the investigations, on the occasion of the publication of the first report of the group he chairs.

Even before February 24, 2022, Moscow undertook forced displacements of people, especially children, under the pretext of offering them "protection". @CecileDSZ takes stock of what could constitute a crime of genocide https://t.co/esLwuo6XqP

— Marion Pignot (@pignot1) February 23, 2023

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In a report published on Monday, the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) called for a "concerted international effort" to allow the return of these children to Ukraine.

Darya Gerasimchuk, the Commissioner for Children of Ukraine's presidency, has identified 43 centres in Russia for minors. According to Kiev, 16,221 children have been deported to Russia until the end of February, figures that the UN commission has not been able to verify.

How did Kiev react?

The Ukrainian Chairmanship welcomed the issuance of this mandate. "This is just the beginning," presidential administration chief Andriy Iermak said on Telegram. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba reacted on Twitter, hailing the fact that "the wheel of justice is turning." "International criminals will be held accountable for stealing children and other international crimes," he added. The Ukrainian prosecutor's office welcomed a "historic decision". "International leaders will think three times before shaking hands," Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said in a statement about Putin.

Another official of the Ukrainian presidency, Mykhailo Podoliak, said that with this decision "the world has changed". "This is the beginning of the end for Russia in its current form on the international stage," he wrote on Twitter.

How did the Kremlin react?

Russian diplomacy immediately denounced the "meaningless" and "insignificant" decisions of the International Criminal Court. "The decisions of the International Criminal Court are meaningless for our country, including from a legal point of view" because Moscow has no obligation to it, wrote on Telegram the spokeswoman of the Russian diplomacy Maria Zakharova, without referring by name to Vladimir Putin in her message.

Our dossier on the war in Ukraine

"Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and has no obligations under it," Zakharova said, adding that Moscow "does not cooperate" with the court. The spokeswoman warned that "arrest (warrants) issued by the International Criminal Court will be legally insignificant" for Russia.

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin. No need to explain WHERE this paper should be used🧻.

— Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) March 17, 2023

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For his part, former Russian President Medvedev compared the ICC arrest warrant for Putin to toilet paper. "The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin. No need to explain where this paper should be used," he wrote on Twitter in English.

While Russia denies all allegations of war crimes, experts have admitted that it is unlikely to hand over suspects.

  • War in Ukraine
  • Russia
  • Vladimir Poutine
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