President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a March 19 video address that the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague is a “turning point” in Russia's war against Ukraine.
After this legal step, “it becomes undeniable that the end of this aggression for Russia will be the full range of its responsibility,” he added.
“Responsibility for every strike on Ukraine, for every destroyed life, for every deported Ukrainian child,” Zelensky said. “The evil state will be held accountable for every act of terror against Ukrainians.”
According to the ICC decision of March 17, Putin can be arrested in one of the 123 countries that are members of the ICC. The court lso issued the arrest warrant agaist Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian official allegedly overseeing the forced deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia.