The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of abducting children from Ukraine.
It also issued a warrant for the arrest of Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Russia‘s commissioner for children, on similar allegations of war crimes.
The Kremlin said Russia found the questions raised by the ICC “outrageous and unacceptable”.
They added the warrants are “null and void” as Russia does not recognise the ICC and has not signed up to the Rome Statutes – the treaty underpinning the world’s permanent war crimes tribunal.
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Putin arrest warrant a ‘historic moment’
Meanwhile, Ms Lvova-Belova said her arrest warrant validated her work “helping the children of our country”.
In a statement, the court alleges the Russian president is “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”.
The ICC said its pre-trial chamber found there were “reasonable grounds to believe” that the two suspects are responsible for the alleged war crimes and that Putin “bears individual criminal responsibility”.
Russia has brought thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia but has presented the programme as a humanitarian campaign to protect abandoned children and orphans in conflict zones.
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Sky News’ international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn said the chances of Putin going on trial are low.
Assessing the warrants, Waghorn said there is “a long list of people” who have been indicted but never had their day in court.
“Unless the war goes very badly for him – he’s toppled from power and he’s handed over – it’s unlikely he’s going to face trial,” Waghorn said.
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CCTV shows Russians hunt Ukraine orphans
How many children have been taken from Ukraine?
The exact number of children taken from Ukraine is unclear, with different organisations offering different estimates.
Waghorn said: “One respected human rights group in America estimates 6,000 children have been deported to Russia, the Ukrainians reckon it’s more like 16,000, and the Russians themselves have said since 2014, 700,000 children have been taken from Ukraine.”
Andriy Yermak, chief of the Ukrainian presidential staff, said Ukraine had cooperated closely with the ICC and was currently investigating over 16,000 cases of forced children deportation to Russia.
Ukraine has managed to secure the return of 308 children so far.
Waghorn suggests the motivation for the mass abductions is twofold – older children can be trained to serve in the military while younger children are beneficial for Russian propaganda purposes.
“We have seen Ukrainian children and orphans being paraded at events in Moscow recently and paraded for the Russian population [with Putin] saying we’re saving these children, we’re doing a good job, trying to to bolster their claim that they are effectively saving the Ukrainians from themselves,” Waghorn said.
Arrest warrant makes diplomatic solution more problematic
Sky News was the first to reveal video evidence of Russian soldiers searching a place of sanctuary in Ukraine looking for children.
In December we broadcast chilling CCTV footage from an orphanage in Kherson where 15 children were taken at gunpoint by the Russian military and aired claims far younger children suffered the same fate in another orphanage nearby.
One independent study claims 6,000 children have been taken by the Russians, the Ukrainians say the true figure is more than twice that amount.
Throughout this war there have been repeated reports of children being abducted, kidnapped or simply persuaded to go with the Russians and never to return.
We have seen some children resurface in events in Russia some of them presided over by President Putin himself, paraded by the Russians claiming to have saved them from the war and the Ukrainian government that Moscow claims to be run by Nazis.
Those allegations are now the substance of International Criminal Court arrest warrants that go to the very top of the Russian government along with President Putin’s children’s rights commissioner Mara Lvova-Belova.
She has been seen on Russian state TV weeping, she says with joy, having adopted Ukrainian orphans that she claims to have saved.
She has been unashamed in boasting about what is happening to Ukraine’s children. She claims to believe she is rescuing them.
Outside of Russia she is seen as running a system whereby Ukrainian children are effectively being trafficked into Russia.
The development is very significant. It makes far more problematic hopes that a diplomatic solution can be negotiated to this conflict.
It also puts pressure on countries who have been ambivalent about Russia’s invasion abstaining in UN votes condemning it and colluding in Moscow’s efforts to avoid sanctions.
ICC investigation of war crimes
In a press conference, the president of the ICC Piotr Hofmanski said the warrants were “an important moment in the process of justice”.
He also said that the judges dealing with the case “determined there are credible allegations against these persons for the alleged crime”.
“Their execution [of the warrants] depends on international cooperation,” he said.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan had opened an investigation a year ago into possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Ukraine.
Mr Khan highlighted during previous trips that he was also examining the targeting of civilian infrastructure and alleged crimes against children, who have special protection under the Geneva Convention.
Ukraine is not a member of the court but has granted the ICC jurisdiction over its territory.
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Zelenskyy has called the ICC’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Putin a ‘historic’ one’
Ukrainian and international response
In his nightly address to the nation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it a “historic decision, from which historic responsibility will begin.”
“The head of a terrorist state and another Russian official have officially become suspects in a war crime,” he said.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly welcomed the ICC warrant which he said would “hold those at the top of the Russian regime, including Vladimir Putin, to account”.
“Work must continue to investigate the atrocities committed,” he wrote on Twitter.
White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said: “There is no doubt that Russia is committing war crimes and atrocities in Ukraine, and we have been clear that those responsible must be held accountable.”
Josep Borrell, the EU’s representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said the warrants are “just the start of holding Russia accountable for crimes and atrocities in Ukraine”.
More than 800 people have been killed and at least 2,800 others injured after an earthquake hit eastern Afghanistan, according to Taliban state officials.
The quake hit the country’s rugged northeastern province of Kunar, near the Pakistan border, at roughly midnight on Sunday, destroying several villages, officials said.
Rescuers are continuing to work in several districts of the mountainous province where the quake hit, while officials in the capital city of Kabul have warned the number of casualties could rise.
A 6.0 quake hit Kunar at around 11.47pm local time (8.17pm UK time) on Sunday.
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The quake’s epicentre was near Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, at a depth of 8.7 miles (14km). Jalalabad is situated about 74 miles (119km) from Kabul. It is considered a remote and mountainous area.
Image: The large red circle shows the earthquake near Kabul. Pic: German Research Centre for Geosciences
A second earthquake struck in the same province about 20 minutes later, with a magnitude of 4.5 and a depth of 6.2 miles (10km). This was later followed by a 5.2 earthquake at the same depth.
Homes of mud and stone were levelled by the quake, with deaths and injuries reported in the districts of Nur Gul, Soki, Watpur, Manogi and Chapadare, according to the Kunar Disaster Management Authority.
The first quake hit 17 miles east-northeast of the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, the US Geological Survey said. Jalalabad is a bustling trade city due to its proximity to a key border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Image: Afghanistan earthquake map
It has a population of around 300,000 people, according to the municipality, but its metropolitan area is believed to be much larger.
Most of its buildings are low-rise constructions predominantly made from concrete and brick, though its outer areas include homes built of mud bricks and wood.
What have officials said so far?
Sharafat Zaman, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s ministry of public health, said: “Rescue operations are still underway there, and several villages have been completely destroyed.
“The figures for martyrs and injured are changing.
“Medical teams from Kunar, Nangarhar and the capital Kabul have arrived in the area.”
He said many areas have not been able to report casualty figures and that “numbers were expected to change” as deaths and injuries are reported.
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More details on the aftermath in Afghanistan
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, said: “Sadly, tonight’s earthquake has caused loss of life and property damage in some of our eastern provinces.
“Local officials and residents are currently engaged in rescue efforts for the affected people. Support teams from the centre and nearby provinces are also on their way.”
According to earlier reports, 30 people were killed in a single village, the health ministry said.
“The number of casualties and injuries is high, but since the area is difficult to access, our teams are still on site,” said health ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman.
The Afghan Red Crescent said its officials and medical teams “rushed to the affected areas and are currently providing emergency assistance to impacted families”.
Quake measures slightly lower than the country’s deadliest disaster
Afghanistan is prone to earthquakes, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.
The country is also one of the world’s poorest, having suffered decades of conflict, with poor infrastructure leaving it particularly vulnerable to natural disasters.
Image: Strong earthquake in eastern Afghanistan near Pakistan border kills hundreds. Pic: AP
Image: People carry an earthquake victim on a stretcher to an ambulance at an airport in Jalalabad. Pic: Reuters
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake and strong aftershocks struck Afghanistan on 7 October 2023.
The country’s Taliban government said at least 4,000 people had been killed, but the United Nations said the death toll was around 1,500.
The 2023 earthquake is considered the deadliest natural disaster to hit Afghanistan in recent memory.
A series of other earthquakes in the country’s west killed more than 1,000 people last year.
Disaster adds to ‘multiplicity of crises’ for Afghanistan
The earthquake is a “perfect storm” in a country that is already suffering a “multiplicity of crises,” the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has told Sky News.
Filippo Grandi said the situation in the country was “very tragic” and added: “We have very little information as of yet, but already, reports of hundreds of people killed and many more made homeless.”
“That’s a country that is already suffering from a multiplicity of crises.”
He said Afghanistan is suffering from a “big drought”, while Iran has “sent back almost 2 million people” and Pakistan “threatens to do the same”.
Image: Ambulances prepare to receive victims of an earthquake. Pic: Nangarhar Media Centre/AP
“It’s extremely difficult to mobilise resources because of the Taliban. So it’s a perfect storm,” he added.
“And this earthquake, likely to have been quite devastating, is going to just add to the misery.”
He appealed to “all those who can help to please do that”.
A foreign office spokesperson for the Afghanistan government said no foreign governments have reached out to provide support for rescue or relief work so far.
At least 43 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Saturday, according to local hospitals, as the Israeli offensive on Gaza City intensifies.
Most of the casualties were reported in Gaza City. Shifa Hospital, the largest in Gaza, said 29 bodies had been brought to its morgue, including 10 people killed while seeking aid and others struck across the city.
Al-Awda Hospital said on Sunday morning that 11 more people were killed in strikes and gunfire, seven of whom were civilians trying to get aid. Witnesses said Israeli troops shot at crowds in the Netzarim Corridor, which is an Israeli military zone cutting Gaza in half.
Ragheb Abu Lebda, from Nuseirat, said the area is a “death trap” after he saw at least three people bleeding from gunshot wounds.
Image: A Palestinian girl walks past a heavily damaged building in Gaza City, a day after an Israeli strike hit it. Pic: AP/Jehad Alshrafi
The Netzarim Corridor has become increasingly dangerous, with civilians seeking aid being killed while approaching United Nations (UN) convoys, which have been overwhelmed by desperate crowds and looters.
Others have been shot en route to aid sites run by the controversial Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Neither the foundation nor the Israeli military responded to questions about the seven reported casualties among people seeking aid on Sunday.
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Image: Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians killed in a strike on a tent at Al-Shifa Hospital. Pic: Reuters/Mahmoud Issa
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz announced on Sunday that the spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing, Abu Obeida, was killed in Gaza over the weekend after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said his forces had attacked the spokesman without confirming whether he had died.
Hamas has not commented on the claim that Mr Obeida has been killed.
It comes after Israel announced the initial stages of its Gaza City offensive on Friday, following weeks of operations on the outskirts of the city and the Jabaliya refugee camp.
Image: Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations in northern Gaza. Pic: AP/Leo Correa
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have since intensified its air attacks in the coastal areas of the city.
The military has urged hundreds of thousands of Palestinians still in Gaza City to flee, but only tens of thousands have followed through, as many say they are not convinced it is safer elsewhere, or they are too exhausted after repeated displacements.
About 65,000 Palestinians have fled their home this month alone, including 23,199 in the past week, according to the UN.
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A local resident said ‘our choice is to face certain death or to leave and end up on the streets without shelter’.
Many are living in temporary shelters after they were displaced multiple times.
The UN says more than 90% of the 2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced at least once since the start of the war on 7 October 2023.
Palestinians have accused Israel of forcing displacements after it signalled that aid to Gaza City would be cut.
Image: A Palestinian child waits to receive food from a charity kitchen in Gaza City. Pic: Reuters/Mahmoud Issa
Malnutrition in Gaza is rife, with part of the Strip suffering from famine, according to a global hunger monitor.
Seven adults died of causes related to malnutrition and starvation over the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll from malnutrition-related causes in adults to 215 since late June, the Gaza health ministry said.
The ministry said 63,371 Palestinians have died since the start of the war in October 2023, including 124 children who have died of malnutrition-related causes.
This comes as Greta Thunberg and other activists have embarked on a second aid flotilla to Gaza on Sunday, despite having been detained by Israeli forces and deported when they approached on a British-flagged yacht in June.
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New flotilla of aid into Gaza
Thunberg, who is among hundreds of people from 44 countries on the flotilla, hopes their mission will bring symbolic aid and help open up a humanitarian corridor to deliver more aid.
She said the activists’ goal is to send “hope and solidarity to the people of Gaza, showing a clear signal that the world has not forgotten about you”.
Sunday’s raids were the latest in a long-running Houthi crackdown against the UN and other international organisations working in rebel-held areas of Yemen.
The offices of the UN’s food, health and children’s agencies were raided on Sunday, according to officials.
Ammar Ammar, a spokesperson for UNICEF, said a number of the agency’s staffers were detained, and the agency was seeking more information from the Houthis.
Media reports have suggested that 11 UN workers were detained.
The Houthis have controlled much of northwestern Yemen since 2014 after forcing out the internationally recognised government and starting a civil war.
They are backed by Iran and have conducted repeated strikes on shipping in the Red Sea and Israel.
Image: Ahmed al Rahawi was killed in an Israeli strike. File pic: Reuters
Sunday’s events come after rebel prime minister Ahmed al Rahawi and a number of other ministers were killed on Thursday, according to the Houthis.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said on Friday it had “carried out a significant strike against strategic targets of the Houthi terror regime in Yemen”.