Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin arrest warrant issued by ICC as US opposes China ceasefire plan

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia does not recognize the International Criminal Court and considers its rulings “legally void”.

The International Court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes is “scandalous and unacceptable”. Mr Peskov declined to comment when asked if Mr Putin would avoid traveling to countries where he could be arrested on an ICC warrant.

An arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin has been issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, which accuses him of war crimes by removing hundreds of Ukrainian children from orphanages.

The court accuses Mr. Putin and his commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, of “illegal deportation” of children “from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation”.

This means that the Court’s 123 member states must detain him and Mr Putin for trial if he sets foot on their territory.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has clearly committed war crimes and the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue him an arrest warrant was justified, his American counterpart Joe Biden said yesterday.

“He clearly committed war crimes,” Mr Biden said.

Speaking of the mandate of the International Criminal Court, he added: “Well, I think it is justified. But the question is – it’s not recognized internationally by us either. But I think that makes a very strong point.

The ICC has called for the arrest of Putin, who is suspected of illegally deporting children and illegally transferring people from Ukraine to Russia since Moscow began its invasion of its neighbor last year. The United States is not a member of the ICC.

There is no doubt Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine, a US State Department spokesperson has said after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin.

“There is no doubt that Russia is committing war crimes and atrocities (in) Ukraine, and we have made it clear that those responsible must be held accountable,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. .

“This is a decision that the ICC prosecutor made independently based on the facts before him.”

The United States, which is not an ICC member, has separately concluded that Russian forces committed war crimes in Ukraine and supports the accountability of perpetrators of war crimes, the spokesperson added.

Russian fighter pilots involved in an incident with a US drone that led to its crash will receive state awards, the Moscow Defense Ministry has announced.

The move appears to signal the Kremlin’s intention to take a more aggressive stance toward future US surveillance flights.

The US military said it abandoned the Air Force MQ-9 Reaper in the Black Sea on Tuesday after two Russian fighter jets dumped fuel on the surveillance drone, then one hit its propeller while flying in international airspace.

Moscow has denied that its fighter jets hit the drone, alleging it crashed during a sudden maneuver. He said his plane reacted to a violation of a no-fly zone that Russia had established in the region near Crimea amid fighting in Ukraine.

Ukrainian soldiers fighting in Bakhmut say they fear being sent to their deaths amid a relentless push by Russian forces to seize the town:

The arrest warrant is one of the most ambitious cases the ICC has undertaken and Andriy Yermak, Ukraine’s presidential staff chief, said the warrant was “just the beginning”:

Ukrainian forces continue to resist Russian assaults on the ruined town of Bakhmut, the focal point for eight months of Russian attempts to advance in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

Ihor, a 36-year-old soldier at the mortar position, said Ukrainian forces were targeted with airstrikes, mortar fire and tank shelling.

“You don’t always check what’s flying overhead,” he added, crouching in a deep trench.

International criminals will be held responsible for stealing children and other international crimes, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

“The wheels of justice are turning,” he wrote.