ICC judges issue arrest warrant for Putin for war crimes in Ukraine

AMSTERDAM, March 17 (Reuters) – The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of responsibility for war crimes committed in Ukraine.

Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations that its forces committed atrocities during its year-long invasion of its neighbor.

In its first warrant against Ukraine, the ICC called for the arrest of Putin on suspicion of illegal deportation of children and illegal transfer of people from Ukrainian territory to the Russian Federation.

The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this week, Reuters reported that the court was to issue warrants.

Separately, the court issued an arrest warrant for Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s children’s rights commissioner, on the same charges.

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan opened an investigation into possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Ukraine a year ago. He pointed out on four trips to Ukraine that he was looking into alleged crimes against children and the targeting of civilian infrastructure.

Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Gareth Jones and Frank Jack Daniel

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