Russian President Vladimir Putin now has a warrant out for his arrest, though in reality, it's nothing more than a symbolic move by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
According to Politico, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin over his recent actions in ordering Ukrainian children to be transferred to Russia after it invaded the European country last year.
The outlet noted: "Ukrainians accuse Moscow of attempting genocide against them and seeking to destroy their identity — partly through deporting children to Russia."
The ICC explained that Putin like "bears criminal responsibility" for the deportations.
In a statement released Friday, the ICC, based in Hague, explained why it issued the warrant and what it means for the Russian dictator.
"Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, born on 7 October 1952, President of the Russian Federation, 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," the statement read.
It added: "There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Putin bears individual criminal responsibility" for the alleged crimes.
The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Ms. Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, for her alleged involvement in the deportations.
Arrest warrant issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin by International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes including deporting Ukrainian children https://t.co/lgsJBFMv9v
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) March 17, 2023
However, Russia doesn't recognize the authority of the ICC, and Putin made clear over the weekend that he's not even remotely worried about it.
The fact that Putin doesn't have any cares in the world about the arrest warrant was evident over the weekend as he made a surprise visit to occupied Russian territory inside Ukraine.
"The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, made unannounced working trips to Crimea and Mariupol. This was allegedly a response to the previously announced arrest warrant for the Russian president by the International Criminal Court (ICC). This was reported by the American newspaper The New York Times," one Twitter user wrote.
NYT: Putin's Mariupol visit was his response to the ICC arrest warrant
The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, made unannounced working trips to Crimea and Mariupol. This was allegedly a response to the previously announced arrest warrant for the Russian president by the… https://t.co/8T5KV632dQ pic.twitter.com/yakA6LZTyx
— GraphicW (@GraphicW5) March 19, 2023
Only time will tell if anything comes of the arrest warrants, but I wouldn't put any money on it.
