The Golden Shackles

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The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant Friday for Russian President Vladimir Putin and another official over alleged war crimes during the Ukraine war, the first decision by the Netherlands-based court since the conflict began last year, USA Today reported.

The international tribunal accused Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova – the presidential commissioner for children’s rights – of unlawfully deporting tens of thousands of Ukrainian children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.

The ICC did not provide any details about the number of cases or children but noted that the public announcement of the warrants is important because they could prevent the “further commission of crimes.”

The move came amid international pressure to prosecute the Russian president and other officials over alleged war crimes in the conflict that began just over a year ago. Russia denies the allegations.

Western and Ukrainian officials hailed the move but analysts said the decision is largely symbolic because Russia – and the United States – do not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction, according to the Washington Post.

The court cannot try someone in absentia and does not have any enforcement mechanisms to detain sitting leaders. It must rely on ICC signatory countries to make arrests.

Still, others noted the warrants would make it difficult for Putin and Lvova-Belova to travel to countries that cooperate with the ICC. It also deals a major reputational blow to Putin – the first head of state of a permanent member of the UN Security Council to be indicted by the ICC – as his war in Ukraine continues into its second year with no end in sight.

Meanwhile, in an act of defiance, the Russian president visited Crimea over the weekend to mark the ninth anniversary of its annexation. He also visited the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol, where Ukrainian troops put up fierce resistance in the early months of the war, CNN reported.