This means that now the dictator has the status of a suspect and outside of Russia he must be arrested and brought to trial.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague said it had issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin “in the context of the situation in Ukraine.”

It is reported by Radio Free Europe.

In addition to Putin, the court also issued a warrant for the arrest of Maria Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children's Rights in the Russian Federation, for the “illegal deportation” of Ukrainian children.

According to The Guardian, the judges found that there were “sufficient grounds to believe that each suspect is responsible for the war crime of illegal deportation of the population and illegal transfer of the population from the occupied territories of Ukraine to the Russian Federation to the detriment of Ukrainian children.”

At first, the judges considered issuing covert warrants. However, in the end they decided that the publication of these warrants could “help prevent further crimes.”

Ukraine's reaction

Andriy Kostin, head of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, stressed that now Putin has the official status of a suspect in an international crime – the illegal forced transfer of Ukrainian children.

“This means that outside of Russia, Putin should be arrested and taken to court . And world leaders will think three times before shaking his hand or sitting down at the negotiating table with him. The world has received a signal that the Russian regime is criminal and its leadership and minions will brought to justice,” Kostin was quoted as saying by the press service of the Office.

The Prosecutor General stressed that this is a historic decision for Ukraine and the entire system of international law, but this is only the beginning of a long journey of restoring justice.

“And we must walk this path together with the entire free world. We expect all states that consider themselves part of the civilized world to take appropriate steps to bring those suspected of committing international crimes to justice. Even if they are the highest leaders of the Russian terrorist regime. Especially if they are the highest leaders of the Russian terrorist regime,” Kostin said.

The Office of the Prosecutor General noted that as part of the criminal proceedings initiated on the fact of violation of the laws and customs of war, information on the forced deportation of 16,226 children from Ukraine is being checked.

Recall that in early March, Ukraine, the Baltic countries, Poland, Romania and Slovenia signed an initiative agreement on the establishment of a special center for collecting evidence and investigating major international crimes committed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine. This is the first step towards the tribunal.

On the eve of The New York Times, it was reported that the ISS in The Hague plans to open two cases of Russian war crimes in Ukraine. They will concern the abductions of Ukrainian children and deliberate attacks on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure. Commenting on this news, the representative of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that the aggressor country does not recognize the ISS in The Hague and the jurisdiction of this court.

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