ICC Issues Arrest Warrant For Vladimir Putin

THE HAGUE (AP) — The International Criminal Court says it has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes because of his alleged involvement in abductions of children from Ukraine. The court said in a statement that 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.” It also issued a warrant Friday for the arrest of Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in Putin’s office, on similar allegations. A possible trial of any Russians at the ICC remains a long way off. Moscow does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction or extradite its nationals.