The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin over allegations of war crimes.
It comes over a year after the Russian invasion in Ukraine began, costing thousands of lives.
The ICC confirmed the news on their website, stating: "Today, 17 March 2023, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court ('ICC' or 'the Court”' issued warrants of arrest for two individuals in the context of the situation in Ukraine: Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Ms Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova."
Among the charges, the ICC alleged that Putin is "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."
It adds: "The crimes were allegedly committed in Ukrainian occupied territory at least from 24 February 2022. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, (i) for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others, and (ii) for his failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts, or allowed for their commission, and who were under his effective authority and control, pursuant to superior responsibility."
Lvova-Belova, who is the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, is also named on the arrest warrant for allegations of "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 ICC added that there are "reasonable grounds" to believe that Putin and Lvova-Belova each "bear responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population and that of unlawful transfer of population from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, in prejudice of Ukrainian children."
Their statement added that the Chamber considered whether the warrant should be kept secret to "protect victims and witnesses and also to safeguard the investigation" but decided it was "in the interests of justice" to publicly disclose the existence of the warrants, the names of the suspects, and the crimes they are alleged to have committed.
Their decision was made on the basis that the conduct is allegedly ongoing in Ukraine, and that public awareness of the warrants "may contribute to the prevention of the further commission of crimes".
Judge Piotr Hofmański, president of the International Criminal Court, said: "It is forbidden by international law for occupying powers to transfer civilians from the territory they live in to other territories.
"Children enjoy special protection under the Geneva Convention. The contents of the warrants are secret to protect victims. The ICC attaches great importance to the protection of victims, especially children.
"Nevertheless, the judges of the chamber have deemed that in this case they have decided to make the existence of the warrants public in the interests of justice and to prevent the commission of future crimes.
"This is an important moment in the process of justice before the ICC. The judges have reviewed the information and evidence submitted by the prosecutors, and determined that there are credible allegations against these persons for the alleged crimes."
Since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022, over 42,000 lives have been lost, with tens of thousands more people injured and homes and businesses destroyed.
Around 14 million citizens have been displaced by the conflict, having fled the country as attacks by Russian forces began.
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