Joe Biden expresses support for ICC’s war crimes charges against Putin, adding more charges against the Russian leader.
Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, is also wanted by the ICC for the same crimes.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan has said the warrants were “based upon forensic evidence, scrutiny and what’s been said by those two individuals”.
The court had initially considered keeping the arrest warrants a secret, but decided to make them public to try and stop further crimes being committed.
“Children can’t be treated as the spoils of war, they can’t be deported,” Mr Khan told the BBC.
“This type of crime doesn’t need one to be a lawyer, one needs to be a human being to know how egregious it is.”
In addition to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, is also wanted by the ICC for the same crimes. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan stated that the warrants were issued based on forensic evidence, scrutiny, and statements from the two individuals.
Initially, the court had considered keeping the arrest warrants confidential, but they decided to make them public in an effort to prevent further crimes.
Khan emphasized that children should not be treated as spoils of war and deported. He further stated that the severity of the crime did not require legal expertise, as it was apparent to anyone with basic humanity.
Mr Khan reminded those who believe they can commit crimes and avoid justice that history has shown otherwise. He pointed out that even Slobodan Milosevic, the Serbian leader who was tried for war crimes in the 1990s, was eventually brought to justice in The Hague.
While Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov deemed the court’s decisions as invalid, Russian opposition activists have applauded the ICC’s decision. Ivan Zhdanov, a close ally of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, called it “a symbolic step” but an important one.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his gratitude to Mr Khan and the ICC for their decision to press charges against “state evil.”