Russia ‘will have to stop in The Hague on the way to hell’ after ICC arrest warrant

Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations said “there is no purgatory for war criminals, they go straight to hell.”

Speaking after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, Sergiy Kyslytsya said “those of them who remain alive after Russia’s military defeat will have to make a stopover in The Hague on their way to hell.”

In his nightly address to the nation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it “a historic decision, from which historic responsibility will begin.”

The Kremlin, however, rejected the ICC arrest warrant, which could theoretically see Putin arrested if he travels to an ICC signatory country.

Putin’s spokesman called the arrest warrant “outrageous and unacceptable” and called the ICC decisions “legally void”.

In Washington, US President Joe Biden called the ICC decision “justified”, telling reporters that Putin “clearly committed war crimes”. Although the United States also does not recognize the court, Biden said he “makes a very strong point” to call out the Russian leader’s actions in ordering the invasion.

What did the International Criminal Court say?

The International Criminal Court says it has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Putin on war crimes charges over his alleged involvement in child abductions in Ukraine.

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

At the same time, the court also issued an arrest warrant for Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, for similar allegations.

The ICC said its pre-trial chamber concluded that there were “reasonable grounds to believe that each suspect bears responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population and that of unlawful transfer of population from occupied areas of Ukraine. to the Russian Federation, to the detriment of Ukrainian children.