International Court of Justice Issues Arrest Warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin

On Friday, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, for their alleged involvement in the abduction of children from Ukraine. This is the first time the court has issued a warrant against one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. The court’s president, Piotr Hofmanski, said that while the ICC’s judges have issued the warrants, it will be up to the international community to enforce them. Moscow has dismissed the court’s decision, but it has been welcomed by Ukraine. ICC prosecutor Khan visited a care home for children two kilometers from front lines in southern Ukraine and noted that these alleged acts are being investigated by his Office as a priority. He stated that children cannot be treated as the spoils of war. Olga Lopatkina, a Ukrainian mother who struggled to reclaim her foster children who were deported to an institution ran by Russian loyalists, welcomed the news of the arrest warrant. Ukraine’s presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter that “the world changed” and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba added that “international criminals will be held accountable for stealing children and other international crimes.”