ICC Head Announces New Arrest Warrants For Putin, Russia's Top Leadership

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The case of deportation of Ukrainian children is not the only case investigated by the International Criminal Court. New arrest warrants depend primarily on the actions of the ICC prosecutor.

This was stated by the head of the ICC Piotr Hofmanski, reports Voice of America.

"He (ICC prosecutor, - ed.) can request an arrest warrant from the ICC pre-trial judges, who will decide whether there are grounds for future arrest warrants. However, the prosecutor has made it clear that he is actively engaged in new investigations in Ukraine, as well as in other countries, and we expect there will be more activity on this," Hofmanski said.

Wagner Group Crimes

One of the cases that could lead to new arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Russia's top leadership is the Wagner Group war crimes case, the publication notes.

"If it is proven that Wagner fighters are involved in the deliberate killing of civilians, we have to look at when they were committing these murders, whether they were in the command chain that included Russian officers or whether it was just the group's command," explains Jennifer Maddox, a law professor at West Point Academy.

One piece of evidence of direct Russian ties to the Wagner Group fighters was recently provided by Putin himself. He admitted that Moscow "fully financed" the mercenaries from May 2022 to May 2023, spending about $1 billion from the budget. According to international law experts, Putin's statement will make it easier for international courts to prosecute the Russian leadership for the crimes committed by the Wagner fighters.

"Putin's words potentially have very serious implications in terms of holding Russia accountable for Wagner's actions and holding Putin personally accountable as Russia's leader," said Philippe Sands, a law professor at University College London.

Putin's Arrest

In March, International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin in the case of the trafficking of Ukrainian children. The Hague warrant authorises Putin's arrest outside of Russia and his transfer to the court.

Ukraine has opened about 90,000 cases of war crimes committed by Russian occupiers since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion. Russia's war crimes are also being investigated by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.