Vladimir Putin (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

On Friday, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin and one of his cronies, for the crime of kidnapping Ukrainian children. Below is a passage from the ICC’s official announcement of the charges:

Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, born on 7 October 1952, President of the Russian Federation, is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (under articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute). The crimes were allegedly committed in Ukrainian occupied territory at least from 24 February 2022. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, (i) for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others (article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute), and (ii) for his failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts, or allowed for their commission, and who were under his effective authority and control, pursuant to superior responsibility (article 28(b) of the Rome Statute).

Ms Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, born on 25 October 1984, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (under articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute). The crimes were allegedly committed in Ukrainian occupied territory at least from 24 February 2022. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Ms Lvova-Belova bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others (article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute).

….there are reasonable grounds to believe that each suspect bears responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population and that of unlawful transfer of population from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, in prejudice of Ukrainian children.

Russia (like the US and China) is not a party to the ICC. But the Court will likely assert jurisdiction due to the fact that these crimes were committed in Ukraine, which is a party to the ICC, and has accepted the ICC’s jurisdiction.

The kidnapping of thousands of Ukrainian children is just one of many Russian war crimes and atrocities in this conflict.

It is unlikely that Putin will actually be tried and convicted for these crimes, except perhaps in absentia. His cronies will only be arrested for these crimes if they leave Russia for a country that enforces ICC judgments. So they are not likely to face any meaningful consequences from the ICC’s actions.

In practice, the ICC punishes mostly African despots and war criminals, after their regime has already lost power. They seldom go after major powers like Russia or China. The ICC’s arrest warrant for the leader of the world’s third most powerful country is a noteworthy exception to that pattern.