The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
Prosecutors in the Hague accuse Mr Putin of being responsible for war crimes committed in Ukraine.
The court in a statement said Mr Putin “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.”
Moscow has rejected the arrest warrant saying it has “no meaning for Russia.”
Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry says, “Russia is not a member of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and bears no obligations under it,” Zakharova said. “Russia does not cooperate with this body, and possible (pretences) for arrest coming from the International Court of Justice will be legally null and void for us”.
The ICC also issued a warrant fo Maria Ivovar-Belova, the official at the coordinating an alleged scheme to forcibly deport thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia.
Friday’s announcement came as the White House hit back at China’s attempts to play peacemaker ahead of president Xi Jinping’s state visit to meet Mr Putin in Moscow on Monday – warning that a ceasefire at this point in the war would have the effect of “ratifying Russian conquest”.
As the war in Ukraine rages on, Slovakia has committed to sending a 13-strong fleet of MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. Slovakia becomes the second NATO member after Poland to commit to sending planes in reaction to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky’s pleas for planes to help Kyiv repel Russia’s invasion.
Russia has condemned the move saying on Friday that the fighter jets would be destroyed and would not make a difference to the course of the conflict.
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