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The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, accusing him of war crimes over the invasion of Ukraine<\/u><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia\u2019s commissioner for children\u2019s rights, are both wanted by the ICC for unlawfully deporting and transporting Ukrainian children to Russia.<\/p>\n The arrest warrants mark the first international charges to be brought since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022<\/u><\/a> and the first against a leader of a country with a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an important moment in the process of justice,\u201d the ICC president, Judge Piotr Hofma\u0144ski, said in a video statement<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n Hofma\u0144ski noted that, per procedures, the court\u2019s chief prosecutor had presented his case against the pair to a panel of pretrial judges, who concluded that there were \u201ccredible allegations\u201d against them.<\/p>\n The ICC does not recognize diplomatic immunity for leaders on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide.<\/p>\n Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that gave rise to the ICC, and is not likely to turn over Putin or Lvova-Belova for prosecution.\u00a0<\/p>\n “The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin,” Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian presient and current deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, wrote on Twitter<\/a>. “No need to explain WHERE this paper should be used\ud83e\uddfb.”<\/p>\n But the charges, which do not expire, will make the pair international pariahs.\u00a0<\/p>\n The 123 countries<\/u><\/a> that have ratified the Rome Statute are urged to arrest any suspects in their territory<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ICC is doing its part of work. As a court of law, the judges issued arrest warrants. Their execution depends on international cooperation,\u201d Hofma\u0144ski said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n