During Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it not only killed many civilians, but also forcibly transferred Ukrainian children to Russia for adoption by Russian families. The International Court of Justice (ICC) of the United Nations found that it constituted a war crime and issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on the 17th. The International Court of Justice Putin is accused of illegally transferring children from Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine to Russian territory, and should bear “personal criminal responsibility” for Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

The Hague-based International Criminal Court (International Criminal Court in The Hague, ICC) judges have issued a warrant for his arrest, arguing that he must punish Ukrainian children for the war, according to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. responsible for the act of shipping to Russia. Putin was arrested by the International Court of Justice on the same charges as Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Russia’s “Child Rights Commissioner”.

In its first report, a high-level UN panel said it had determined that Russia had committed “a wide range of war crimes” since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Investigators also warned of possible crimes against humanity, but Commission of Inquiry chairman Erik Mose said “no genocide has been found in Ukraine”.

Asked about specific allegations of genocide, including the forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Russian-controlled areas, Moss said: “Of course we are aware of those possibilities, and we will continue to pursue them (if the mandate of the commission of inquiry is extended).” Still, , the investigators’ report concluded that Russia’s forcible deportation of Ukrainian children “violates international humanitarian law and constitutes a war crime”.

Ukrainian authorities say 16,221 Ukrainian children have been sent to Russia as of last month. Investigators said they could not verify the numbers, but had documented steps by Russian officials to place the transferred Ukrainian children in foster families and institutions and to grant Russian citizenship. The transfer of 164 minors aged 4 to 18 from Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kherson in Ukraine has been examined in detail.