ICC issues arrest warrant for Putin on war crime allegations

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

The Hague-based court said in a statement on Friday Putin “is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”

It also issued a warrant for the arrest for Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the commissioner for children’s rights in the office of the president of the Russian federation on similar allegations.

There was no immediate comment by Russia following the ICC’s move on Friday.

Russia denies committing atrocities since it invaded Ukraine in February last year.

The warrants came a day after a United Nations-backed inquiry accused Russia of committing wide-ranging war crimes in Ukraine, including the forced deportations of children in areas it controls.

Agencies