Amsterdam: The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of war crimes in Ukraine, but Moscow said the move It is meaningless.
Russia has repeatedly denied allegations that its forces committed atrocities during the year-old invasion of its neighbor.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin on suspicion of the illegal deportation of children and the illegal transfer of people from the territory of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.
The court also issued a warrant for the Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Leva Belova, on the same charges.
In a first reaction to the news from Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on her Telegram channel: “The decisions of the International Criminal Court have no meaning for our country, including from a legal point of view.”
“Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and bears no obligations under it.”
There was no immediate reaction from the Kremlin.
‘Only the beginning’
Senior Ukrainian officials praised the ICC’s decision, with the country’s Prosecutor General Andriy Costin calling it “historic for Ukraine and the entire international legal system”.
Presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said the issuance of the warrant was “just the beginning.”
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan launched an investigation into possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Ukraine a year ago. He has highlighted during his four visits to Ukraine that he is considering targeting alleged crimes against children and civilian infrastructure.
The ICC move came a day after the UN-run investigative body accused Russia of committing a wide range of war crimes in Ukraine, including deliberate killings and torture, in some cases. Children are seen raping their loved ones and detaining others with dead bodies.
The news comes ahead of a planned state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow next week, which is expected to cement much closer ties between Russia and China as relations between Moscow and the West hit new lows. have reached
Russia has been under Western sanctions since sending tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Beijing and Moscow had struck a “no-limits” partnership shortly before the attack, and US and European leaders have said they fear Beijing could send weapons to Russia.
China has denied any such plans and has criticized the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine, which will reach fighter jets this week after Poland and Slovakia approved this week. The Kremlin said the jets would be destroyed.
