Although world leaders have been indicted before, it was the first time the global court has issued a warrant against a leader of one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, according to AP.
The court said in a statement that Putin “is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of (children) and that of unlawful transfer of (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”
It also issued a warrant for the arrest of Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation.
The move was immediately dismissed by Moscow — and welcomed by Ukraine as a major breakthrough. Its practical implications, however, could well be limited as the chances of either facing trial at the ICC are extremely unlikely.