ICC will seek arrest warrants for the Russian invasion, but Moscow responds that it does not recognize the court

Could Russia be judged for the war in Ukraine? The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court of Justice (ICC), Karim Khan, will formally open two cases against Moscow for war crimes and request arrest warrants against several individuals, according to officials from the high court, quoted by ‘The New York Times’ and that they spoke on condition of anonymity.

The court aims to try two cases: the mass kidnapping of children and adolescents who have been sent to Russian re-education camps and the deliberate attacks by Vladimir Putin’s troops against civilian infrastructure.

According to the same sources, Khan would ask the investigating judges to approve the arrest warrants based on the evidence collected so far. It has not yet been disclosed against whom they would be directed.

These are the first international charges against Moscow since it ordered an invasion of its neighboring country and come after months of work by special investigative teams.

But the road would be full of obstacles. To begin with, this Tuesday, March 14, a few hours after the information was released, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, responded that his government does not recognize the court based in The Hague.

“We do not recognize this court, we do not recognize its jurisdiction,” Peskov remarked, after being questioned about it by the local press.

Some diplomats and experts say Russian President Vladimir Putin may be among those charged, as the court does not recognize a head of state’s immunity in cases involving war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide.

However, specialists also point out that the likelihood of a trial remains slim, as the ICC cannot try cases in absentia and Russia is unlikely to hand over its own officials.

Despite the findings of investigators on Ukrainian soil and the testimonies of survivors who narrate the atrocities to which they have been subjected by the Russian military, Moscow insists on denying that it commits war crimes.

The mass kidnapping of Ukrainian minors

Although the number may be higher, at least 6,000 minors, from toddlers to teenagers, have been taken out of Ukraine and detained in a total of 43 camps in Russia, says a report by Yale University and the Department’s Conflict Observatory program. of State of the USA, published last February.

Investigators indicate that the children are transferred to be re-educated and become Russian citizens. Some of them come from orphanages or foster homes.

The Russian government does not hide this situation, but presents it as a “humanitarian mission” program to “protect” orphaned or “abandoned” minors from the war.

In fact, a few weeks after the start of the conflict, on February 24, 2022, the Russian commissioner for children’s rights and public face of that program, Maria Lvova-Belova, recognized the transfer of Ukrainian children to the invading nation and promotes the adoptions of these minors on television.

Putin delivered the final blow by signing a decree last May to speed up access to Russian citizenship for Ukrainians.

But the ICC investigations dismiss Moscow’s good intentions and point to illegal transfers. “Children cannot be treated as spoils of war,” prosecutor Khan remarked after his visit to southern Ukraine a few weeks ago where he visited what used to be a children’s home that is now uninhabited.

“The forcible transfer of civilians across a border is prohibited, and during a conflict it can be a war crime. It can also amount to crimes against humanity (…) The deportation of children could even be part of a genocidal intent”, highlighted Mark Ellis, executive director of the International Bar Association, to ‘The New York Times’.

According to data from the Ukrainian Government’s National Information Office released earlier this month, the number of children forcibly transferred to Russia could exceed 16,000 so far.

Attacks against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine

For months Russian troops have launched bombardments against electricity and water grids across Ukraine, leaving citizens without vital fluids and power.

According to Moscow, their attacks are directed against the Army of the country attacked, but the truth is that millions of civilians are affected. A situation made worse by being left without access to heating during the winter months.

kyiv and the West accuse Moscow of trying to freeze the Ukrainians to death.

The US government ensures that it has evidence that these are deliberate assaults. Although some within the Administration say they are willing to share the evidence with the court, despite not being a member country, others are opposed.

Defense Department sources indicate that there are blockades by some officials, because they fear setting a precedent that could open the way to try Americans for actions of their troops in other nations.

The last word on the publication or not of this evidence against the Kremlin would be in the hands of President Joe Biden.

Usually, investigations for war crimes begin when the attacks are turned off so that experts can access the ground, but in the case of Ukraine the investigations by human rights organizations and even members of the ICC have proceeded in the midst of the worst conflict in Europe since World War II.

Although the ICC teams would have sufficient evidence, it remains uncertain whether the Russian perpetrators will one day sit in the dock.

With Reuters and local media