The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against US President Joe Biden’s Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
According to the BBC, the ICC accused President Putin of committing war crimes in Ukraine, which President Biden said the Russian leader had “clearly” done.
The claims center on the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia since Moscow’s invasion in 2022.
Moscow has denied the allegations and denounced the warrants as “outrageous”.
According to the BBC, the move is unlikely to have much impact because the ICC lacks the authority to arrest suspects without the cooperation of a country’s government.
Russia is not a member of the ICC, so the court has no jurisdiction there.
However, it may have an impact on Putin in other ways, such as his ability to travel internationally. He may now be arrested if he enters any of the court’s 123 member countries.
Putin is the third president to face an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.
While the court had no sway in the United States, President Biden stated that the issuance of the warrant “makes a very strong point.”
His administration had already “formally determined” that Russia committed war crimes during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, with Vice President Kamala Harris declaring in February that those responsible would be “held accountable.”
Source:OCN