The court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova.

The document states that they may be involved in "war crimes involving the illegal deportation of the population (children) and the illegal movement of the population (children) from the occupied territories of Ukraine to the Russian Federation".

As a rule, the issuance of arrest warrants at the ICC is carried out in secrecy to protect victims and witnesses, as well as in order not to complicate the course of the investigation. In this case, it was decided to make an exception and disclose the fact of the existence of warrants, the names of suspects and the "crimes" in connection with which the warrants were issued, taking into account that "the actions referred to in this situation are presumably ongoing and that informing the public about the warrants can help prevent crimes in the future".

The official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, commented on the decision of the Hague Court. She pointed out that the decisions of the ICC have no meaning for Russia, and possible arrest warrants are legally null and void.