AMSTERDAM — The International Criminal Court on Friday issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and one of his government ministers — a largely symbolic step, but one that could resonate powerfully with those hoping to see top Kremlin leaders held to account for a brutal war.
The warrants, the first issued in connection with the year-old Ukraine conflict, cites alleged involvement by Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, in the deportations and transfer of thousands of Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine in the wake of the February 2022 invasion.
Ukraine has said that at least 10,000 Ukrainian children were believed to have been deported to Russia without their parents. Lvova-Belova in particular has lauded the practice of bringing Ukrainian children to Russia, and previously disclosed her own “adoption” of at least one Ukrainian child.
