Situation in Ukraine: ICC judges issue arrest warrants against Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova

Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, born on 7 October 1952, President of the Russian Federation, is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (under articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute). The crimes were allegedly committed in Ukrainian occupied territory at least from 24 February 2022. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, (i) for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others (article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute), and (ii) for his failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts, or allowed for their commission, and who were under his effective authority and control, pursuant to superior responsibility (article 28(b) of the Rome Statute).

Ms Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, born on 25 October 1984, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the  President of the Russian Federation, is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (under articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute). The crimes were allegedly committed in Ukrainian occupied territory at least from 24 February 2022. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Ms Lvova-Belova bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others (article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute).

Pre-Trial Chamber II considered, based on the Prosecution’s applications of 22 February 2023, that there are reasonable grounds to believe that each suspect bears responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population and that of unlawful transfer of population from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, in prejudice of Ukrainian children.

The Chamber considered that the warrants are secret in order to protect victims and witnesses and also to safeguard the investigation. Nevertheless, mindful that the conduct addressed in the present situation is allegedly ongoing, and that the public awareness of the warrants may contribute to the prevention of the further commission of crimes, the Chamber considered that it is in the interests of justice to authorise the Registry to publicly disclose the existence of the warrants, the name of the suspects, the crimes for which the warrants are issued, and the modes of liability as established by the Chamber.

The abovementioned warrants of arrests were issued pursuant to the applications submitted by the Prosecution on 22 February 2023. 

Video statement of ICC President Judge Piotr Hofmański:

from www.icc-cpi.int

The Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK)—a grouping of Russians fighting for Ukraine against Moscow's ongoing invasion of the country—on Thursday claimed to have undertaken a cross-border operation in which they attacked Russian military units.

Russian media claimed Thursday that a group of Ukrainian "saboteurs" had crossed the border into Bryansk Oblast, which borders Ukraine and Belarus, engaging in firefights, taking several people hostage, and inflicting civilian casualties.

Ukrainian officials quickly dismissed the reports as a Russian false flag. But the RDK then announced on its official Telegram channel that a group of its fighters had indeed crossed into Russia, though denied targeting any civilians or taking any hostages.

The Telegram post, which included a video of two armed men holding up an RDK flag in front of a Russian post box, declared that reports of hostage-taking or civilian casualties were "a lie of the Kremlin propagandists."  

"The Russian Volunteer Corps came to the Bryansk region to show their compatriots that there is hope, that free Russian people with weapons in their hands can fight the regime," the post read, promising to upload further video footage of the operation.

Russian investigative news site iStories reported it had spoken to one of the RDK fighters who took part. The anonymous interviewee told the website a group of 45 fighters "went in, filmed, ambushed two BMPs [Russian-made fighting vehicles]."

"I didn't see any children," the fighter said. "But there was one injured border guard."

He said they hadn't take any hostages.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry to request comment.

The RDK was formed in summer 2022 to help Kyiv fight against Russia's ongoing invasion. It does not release information about its fighting strength, and is believed to be largely made up of émigrés living in Ukraine hostile to the Kremlin.

This partially differentiates the RDK from other pro-Ukrainian Russian units like the Freedom of Russia Legion, which recruits Russian prisoners of war.

One RDK commander—named only as Denis—told Russia's Vot Tak TV in August 2022 that its soldiers are selected based on their political outlook, with the unit subscribing to right-wing ideology. Vot Tak said fighters have been known to use symbols of the World War II-era Russian Liberation Army, which collaborated with Nazi Germany and fought against the Soviet Union.

Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly summoned his Security Council after news of the cross-border operation broke and condemned the incident on television as a "terrorist attack."

Mark Voyger, a former special adviser for Russian and Eurasian affairs to then-commander of U.S. Army Europe, General Ben Hodges, told Newsweek he expected the Kremlin to leverage the situation to expand its war, regardless of whether the operation proved legitimate or a false flag.

"I would be shocked if they don't use this one way or another to again tighten the screws," Voyger—now a non-resident senior fellow at the Center for European Analysis and a professor at the American University of Kyiv—said.

"If it is actually a real attack by such a unit, obviously it comes from Ukraine. And so now, the Kremlin actually doesn't have to invent anything," Voyger added, referring to false flags.

"Actually, it becomes more of an existential threat for the regime, because it will be a genuine attack by a real anti-Kremlin force originating from Ukraine," he said.

With the attack having occurred so close to the border of Belarus, Voyger added, Putin may use the incident to further pressure Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to join the war.

from www.newsweek.com

Moscow’s second major missile attack in three days badly damaged a hotel south of Kyiv’s center and a residential building in another district. A Japanese journalist was among the wounded and taken to hospital, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Russia has been attacking vital infrastructure in Ukraine since October with barrages of missiles and drones, causing sweeping power blackouts and other outages for millions of people as the cold weather bites.

“This time, Russia’s mass missile attack is deliberately targeting residential areas, not even our energy infrastructure,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter after the attack.

“War criminal Putin ‘celebrates’ New Year by killing people,” Kuleba said, calling for Russia to be deprived of its permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.

from www.cnbc.com

Two people died Tuesday afternoon after a projectile struck an area where grain was drying in Przewodów, a Polish village near the border with Ukraine, domestic media reported.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has called an emergency meeting of the country's top national security and defence officials due to a "crisis situation", according to government spokesman Piotr Mueller.