The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the arrest warrant for Russian leader Vladimir Putin as a “historic decision” by the International Criminal Court. “The leader of a terrorist state and another Russian official are officially suspected of a war crime,” Zelensky said in a video message distributed in Kiev late on Friday.
The court in The Hague, Netherlands, issued an arrest warrant for kidnapping children from occupied territories in Ukraine to Russia. The US government also welcomed the measure – although it does not recognize the criminal court itself.
Thousands of Ukrainian children were illegally deported, Zelensky said. Ukrainian authorities have registered at least 16,000 cases. “But the true total number of deportees could be much higher,” Zelensky said. Around 300 children have been brought back to Ukraine so far.
Moscow denies war crimes
Moscow denies war crimes and emphasizes that the children were brought to safety before the war – which in Russia can only be called a “special military operation”. Ukraine, on the other hand, accuses the Russian aggressor of forcibly “Russifying” the children. “It would be impossible to carry out such a criminal operation without the orders of the supreme leader of the terrorist state,” Zelensky said. He has long complained that children are being deprived of their Ukrainian identity through re-education and indoctrination.
The President of Ukraine thanked the team around the chief prosecutor of the Hague court, karim khan, to the step that allows punishing the guilty. Ukraine, for its part, will do everything to bring back the kidnapped girls and boys, Zelensky said.
Biden: Court is not recognized worldwide
Also President of the United States Joe Biden described the arrest warrant against Putin as justified. “I think that’s a very strong point,” Biden said after an event in Washington on Friday, according to reporters. Putin clearly committed war crimes. However, the International Criminal Court is not recognized worldwide, “not even by us,” added Biden. In addition to Russia, the US and China also do not recognize the court. Lawyers often cite the fact that these states want to protect their political leaders and soldiers from judicial access as the reason for this. In total, more than 120 countries have ratified the Rome Statute.
Battle of Bakhmut
During the course of the war, the Battle of Bakhmut in focus. It is considered the bloodiest of the war so far. Zelensky has always stated that he wanted to keep the strategically important but now largely destroyed city with a population of 70,000 because otherwise the Russians could penetrate deeper into Ukraine. Also in a southerly direction, near Kherson and Zaporizhia, the occupants suffered noticeable losses due to determined resistance.
© Image: EPA/MARIA SENOVILLA
Slovakia sends MiG-29
Furthermore, Zelensky reported on a conversation with Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger and thanked him for a “strong new defense support package”. The delivery of Soviet MiG-29 fighters will not only serve the security of Ukraine, but of the whole of Europe.
The Slovak government decided on Friday to hand over its 13 MiG-29 planes to Ukraine. The decision sparked outrage among the opposition in the EU and NATO country. With the delivery of combat aircraft, Slovakia itself would be involved in the war, she criticized – and without the participation of Parliament, such a serious foreign policy and military decision should not have been taken. Previous polls have shown that a clear majority of the population is against the delivery of fighter jets.
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