On Friday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of war crimes committed in Ukraine. Moscow has constantly refuted charges that its forces committed atrocities against its neighbor during the one-year invasion.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin on suspicion of unlawful deportation of children and the unlawful movement of people from Ukrainian territory to the Russian Federation. Reuters reported earlier this week that the court was set to issue warrants, the first in its inquiry into the Ukraine conflict. Meanwhile, the court issued warrants on the same accusations for Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights.
Next week, a war crimes prosecutor will visit London
As he is ready to issue the first arrest warrants for Russians for their alleged conduct in the year-long conflict, the top prosecutor of the International Criminal Court looking into possible war crimes in Ukraine will visit London next week.
According to three people with knowledge of the plans, Karim Khan is scheduled to attend a war crimes conference hosted by the UK government on Monday. One of the people said Khan, a British attorney, had already requested arrest orders for Russian nationals from the court’s pre-trial judges.
More than a year ago, the ICC prosecutor launched an investigation into possible war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity in Ukraine against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Since then, Khan has personally visited the nation four times to meet with Ukrainian investigators and evaluate gathered material.
