Watch: Did Vladimir Putin commit war crimes in Ukraine? Joe Biden's response
Russia-Ukraine War: Watch: Joe Biden asked if Vladimir Putin should be trialed for war crimes? His response
US President Joe Biden said that Russian president Vladimir Putin has committed war crimes, in response to a question from reporters after the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin over the war crime accusation of deporting Ukrainian children.
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Russia dismissed the orders as “void” as it remains unclear whether the warrant will result in Vladimir Putin's arrest as Russia is not a party to the ICC.
"Russia, just like a number of different countries, does not recognise the jurisdiction of this court and so from a legal point of view, the decisions of this court are void," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
More than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the invasion, Kyiv has claimed.
On Vladimir Putin being liable for arrest if he set foot in any of ICC' more than 120 member states, Joe Biden said that the decision to issue an arrest warrant for him was justified, echoing views of Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky who said, “A historic decision from which historic responsibility will begin.”
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said that the arrest warrants were "based upon forensic evidence, scrutiny and what's been said by those two individuals", AFP reported. "The evidence we presented focused on crimes against children. Children are the most vulnerable part of our society," Karim Khan added.
Ukraine's allies from the West also hailed the move with the UK welcoming the decision while the European Union said that the warrant was "just the start."
