Arrest warrants against Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin

Putin will be taken to international court.
Illustration by Kaj Stenvall.

Recently17 March 2023, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court: ICC issued warrants of arrest for two individuals in the context of the situation in Ukraine: Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and also Ms Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova.

"Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, born on 7 October 1952, President of the Russian Federation, is allegedly responsible (we know that he is) 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 (under articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute). 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 (article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute), 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 (article 28(b) of the Rome Statute)."

This is music to my ears.