Lvova-Belova does not know why the ICC specifically issued a warrant for her arrest

Ombudsman for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova said she did not know why the International Criminal Court in The Hague (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for her and President Vladimir Putin. She also reiterated that Russia does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC, so its decision will not have any impact on her work.

“We do not currently know what cases are involved. The argumentation used in the public field is abstract: it does not contain names, surnames, addresses, respectively, we cannot verify it in any way,” Ms. Lvova-Belova wrote in her Telegram-channel in response to a related question.

According to the commissioner for children’s rights, the ICC did not contact her and did not request any materials or documents about the movement of children. When asked about what thousands of Ukrainian children she was talking about, she replied that it should be asked to the Ukrainian side. “Without providing specific facts, you can name any numbers without any responsibility,” she added.

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Maria Lvova-Belova and Vladimir Putin on March 17. From the press release of the court it follows that they are “presumably responsible for war crimes related to the illegal deportation of the population (children) from the occupied territories of Ukraine to the territory of the Russian Federation.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky estimated the number of deported children at over 16,000.

About how the world assessed the warrant for the arrest of Vladimir Putin – in the material “Kommersant” “The service of the ICC does not tolerate fuss.”

Milena Kostereva