In his nightly address to the Ukrainian people, President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the move by the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants Vladimir Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Russia’s ‘Children’s Rights Commissioner on war crimes charges, namely the deportation of Ukrainian children.
The head of the terrorist state and another Russian official have officially become suspects in a war crime. The deportation of Ukrainian children – the illegal transfer of thousands of our children to the territory of the terrorist state. Over 16,000 cases of forced deportation of Ukrainian children by the occupier have already been recorded in criminal proceedings investigated by our law enforcement officers. But the real, full number of deportees may be much higher. It would be impossible to commit such a criminal operation without the order of the top leader of the terrorist state – Volodymyr Zelensky.
Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, who was the lead prosecutor at former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic’s trial, said it was “extremely important'” that the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin.
He suggested that Putin being “labelled and treated as a criminal” could inspire a change in regime or “encourage the process of replacement.”
“There’s enough information seeping out to indicate that there are some unhappy with his leadership,” Sir Geoffrey told Sky News on Friday.
