The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin for what it says are Putin’s personal responsibility in the abduction of children from Ukraine and transporting them to Russia. A similar warrant was issued for Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova who is the commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the ICC warrant “outrageous and unacceptable” and issued a strong reminder that Russia does not recognize the ICC and therefore any legal decision it makes is “legally void.†Ukraine’s National Information Bureau estimates that over 16,000 children were taken to Russia; only 308 have been brought back.
