The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, for alleged war crimes involving the forcible deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.
The move is a significant step, although analysts acknowledge the chances of arresting Putin on the charges are slim. Russia has not signed on as a party to the ICC, and Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin called the court’s decision “historic.” The U.S. is not a signatory to the court’s statute and has a complicated relationship with it.
Amnesty International has praised the ICC’s move as a step towards justice for victims, and called on countries to deny Putin safe haven should he leave Russia. Unfortunately based on previous cases we will not see anything real action out of this announcement. But I guess it’s “for the record”. Too bad the guy is an asshole.
