Russia 'will have to make a stop in The Hague on their way to hell' after ICC arrest warrant

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Ukraine's ambassador at the United Nations says that "there is no purgatory for war criminals, they go straight to hell."

Speaking after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, Sergiy Kyslytsya said "those of them who remain alive after the military defeat of Russia will have to make a stop in The Hague on their way to hell.”

In his nightly address to the nation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it an “historic decision, from which historic responsibility will begin."

The Kremlin, however, has dismissed the ICC's arrest warrant, which could see theoretically see Putin arrested if he goes to a country which is an ICC signatory. 

Putin's spokesperson called the arrest warrant "outrageous and unacceptable", and labeled the ICC's decisions as "legally void."

In Washington, US President Joe Biden called the ICC's decision “justified,” telling reporters that Putin “clearly committed war crimes.” While the US does not recognise the court either, Biden said it “makes a very strong point” to call out the Russian leader's actions in ordering the invasion.

What did the International Criminal Court say?

The International Criminal Court says it has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Putin for war crimes because of his alleged involvement in abductions of children from Ukraine.

The court said in a statement Friday that Putin “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.”

At the same time, the court also issued a warrant for the arrest for Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation on similar allegations.

The ICC said that its pre-trial chamber found there were “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.”