Joe Biden hails decision to issue ICC arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin

The US president, Joe Biden, has backed the International Criminal Court’s determination to issue an apprehension warrant for Vladimir Putin implicit his relation successful the abduction of Ukrainian children, saying it was “justified”.

Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, was among different planetary leaders who welcomed the decision, saying connected Saturdayyesterday that it showed “nobody is supra the law”.

Thousands of Ukrainian children person been forcibly deported to Russia, wherever galore person been adopted by Russian families. It is conscionable 1 of galore crimes – including torture and the deliberate targeting of civilians – for which Ukraine wants to spot Russian soldiers and politicians held to account.

Volodymr Zelenskiy, Ukraine’s president, hailed it arsenic a historical determination “from which historical work volition begin”.

The warrant is improbable to pb to a trial. Putin cannot beryllium tried successful absentia, and tin lone beryllium arrested if helium travels to 1 of the 123 countries that are members of the ICC. Russia, Putin’s cardinal state China, and the US person each declined to go members.

Biden acknowledged this, adjacent arsenic helium said the warrant made “a precise beardown point”.

This marks the archetypal clip the tribunal has issued an apprehension warrant against the person of 1 of the 5 imperishable members of the UN information council.

Putin volition present beryllium labelled an alleged warfare transgression for the remainder of his beingness by the tribunal liable for investigating immoderate of the astir superior violations of caller decades. It puts him successful the aforesaid institution arsenic infamous figures specified arsenic Slobodan Milošević, the erstwhile president of Yugoslavia, and the erstwhile Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir.

At a clip erstwhile Moscow is seeking to triumph enactment for its warfare – oregon neutralise backing for Ukraine – among countries successful the planetary south, it volition perchance bounds his travel. However, ICC subordinate countries bash not person to enforce apprehension warrants, and person declined to bash truthful successful the past.

Joe Biden said the warrant made ‘a precise beardown point’. Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock

The warrant, on with 1 for Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, besides sends a beardown connection to different elder Russian subject and civilian officials who are playing a relation successful the war.

It is present wide they tin beryllium held accountable for what they are doing, by lawyers who are intimately monitoring events successful Ukraine. Even if Putin’s authorities protects them astatine home, astatine the precise slightest their question could beryllium severely restricted if they look connected aboriginal warrants.

In the UK, the Labour enactment leader, Keir Starmer, said the determination sent an important message: “There volition beryllium nary hiding spot for Putin and his cronies, and the satellite is determined to marque them wage for what they person done.”

He besides suggested much warrants were apt to follow: “These cases are conscionable the extremity of the iceberg.”

Russia has denied committing atrocities, and successful Moscow the apprehension warrant was met with predictable outrage. Pro-Putin figures presented it arsenic grounds that Washington was pushing for authorities alteration successful the country, adjacent though the US is not a subordinate of the ICC.

“Yankees, hands disconnected Putin!” the parliamentary speaker, Vyacheslav Volodin – a adjacent state of the president – wrote connected Telegram. “We respect immoderate attacks connected the president of the Russian Federation arsenic aggression against our country.”

The warrant is apt to bolster the lasting of pro-war Russian hardliners who person sought to contiguous the penetration of Ukraine arsenic an existential conflict for nationalist survival.

“All pro-western wide forces who looked for compromise with the westbound volition beryllium fired,” wrote Sergei Markov, a pro-Putin governmental expert and erstwhile Kremlin adviser.

“The Kremlin’s lone way tin beryllium that of a subject victory.”

The Russian opposition, which has mostly fled overseas since the commencement of the war, hailed Friday’s announcement.

“Yes, it’s a symbolic step. But what an important one,” said Leonid Volkov, a adjacent state of jailed absorption person Alexei Navalny.

And portion Putin’s opponents acknowledged that the warrant would marque small quality to the Russian leader’s status, they welcomed the determination arsenic an due effect to his apt relation successful the abduction of children.

“Now Putin is genuinely an planetary pariah,” Ivan Pavlov, a salient Russian quality rights lawyer, told the Observer.

“I exclude the anticipation that the deportation of Ukrainian children was carried retired without his knowledge, without his consent and without his order.”