Summary of the news
- The President of Russia has been accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
- Vladimir Putin has been invited to a BRICS summit to be held in Johannesburg.
- South Africa, a member of the International Criminal Court, should arrest Putin if he enters its territory.
- The South African president said the arrest of Putin was a “declaration of war”.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during the New Global Financial Compact Summit in Paris, France Portal 06/22/2022
Arresting Vladimir Putin would be a declaration of war on Russia, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a document released on Tuesday (18th), amid a nationwide debate over the Russian president’s visit to the next BRICS summit.
Putin was invited to the summit of this association of five major emerging economies (South Africa, Brazil, China, India and Russia) to be held in Johannesburg on August 2224.
But the Russian president has been the target of an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant since March for war crimes and the “deportation” of Ukrainian children after the invasion, allegations denied by the Russian government.
As a member of the International Criminal Court, South Africa should theoretically arrest Putin if he enters its territory. It would be a major diplomatic dilemma for the government, which has refused to condemn Russia since the war began.
The case took a legal turn after South Africa’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), tried in court to force the government to ensure that Putin is arrested and handed over to the ICC if he enters South Africa. Ramaphosa called the party’s request “irresponsible”.
“Russia has made it clear that any arrest of its current president would be a declaration of war. It would not be compatible with our constitution to risk drawing the country into a war with Russia,” he wrote.
• Share this news on WhatsApp
• Share this news on Telegram
South Africa is seeking a repeal of the ICC rules because Putin’s detention could endanger “the security, peace and order of the state,” Ramaphosa clarified in the initially classified text signed in June to be disclosed before the court.
The Brics group is trying to gain greater influence in international institutions that have so far been dominated by the US and Europe.
This is the group’s 15th summit and will be held at a convention center in Johannesburg.
South Africa has close ties with Russia as the Kremlin supported Nelson Mandela and his current ruling party in fighting the racist regime during the apartheid era.
Exciting: Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war; see photos
Prisoners of war are persons held in custody by an army during or after an armed conflict. They can be soldiers or ordinary people. It is estimated that hundreds of people are in this situation in the current war between Russia and Ukraine. It’s difficult to give an exact number, but this week alone the two countries have turned back almost a hundred people on each side*. Supervised by Sofia Pilagallo
In a post on messaging app Telegram, the Russian Defense Ministry said 94 Russians held in Ukrainian captivity had been released after negotiations and were being taken to a medical facility for examination.
The ministry also released a video showing the released soldiers returning to Russia by bus. The same happened with a group of Ukrainians
The head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine Andriy Yermak reported that 95 Ukrainian military personnel had been turned back. Among them were members of the National Guard and Border Patrol.
Yermak said the freedmen were on duty near the city of Mariupol, near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which was briefly occupied by Russian forces last year. Some of the soldiers also operated on Snake Island in the Black Sea and from Bakhmut, still a focal point of fighting in the east.
The prisoners, who were released at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, were seen hugging their relatives, who greeted them with relief. Information on how the families were taken to the secret address is unclear.
Among the released prisoners are also some women. In this photo, a former prisoner of war hugs her children Renat and Varvara after they return home after being illegally deported to Russia
The Ukrainian Armed Forces released footage of that moment and of several POWs gathered. Detailed information about what happened to them in Russia has not yet been released, but it is known that many of them were wounded.