ICC issues war crimes arrest warrant for Putin

The International Criminal Court on Friday announced an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on the war crime accusation of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children. The Hague-based ICC said it had also issued a warrant against Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s presidential commissioner for children’s rights, on similar charges. The Kremlin dismissed the orders as “void”. Russia is not a party to the ICC so it was unclear if or how Putin could ever be extradited. War-battered Ukraine welcomed the ICC announcement, with the nation’s chief prosecutor saying the “historic” warrant for Putin was “just the beginning”. The court’s shock notice came…