THE HAGUE (The Netherlands), March 17: The United Nations' International Criminal
Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant against Putin, the Russian President,
to stand trial over the war crimes in Ukraine.
A court statement said on Friday the warrant was issued over Putin’s alleged
involvement in the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia and
other war crimes.
The development coming in the wake of the first direct encounter between the
US and Russia over Black Sea since the invasion of Ukraine began, with the latter
downing a US drone, has the potential to trigger a global conflagration. The
Russian Su-27 hit the Reaper’s propeller, causing it to tumble into the sea,
the Pentagon said.
Reacting to the court order, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman
Maria Zakharova said the court has “no meaning” for the country. “Russia is
not a member of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and bears
no obligations under it", she said.
The ICC has no police force or powers but Putin can be arrested by any of
the 123 member-countries constituting the court if he enters any such country.
The Rome Statute which established the court has been ratified by these countries.
The US has not yet ratifed it.
Russia had begun an invasion of Ukraine in February last year and continues
bombing across the country killing people and destroying cities every day.
The court has also ordered the arrset of Putin's children’s rights commissioner
Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova for the ‘unlawful deportation’ of Ukrainian children
to Russia. The Ukrainian Government says many of the missing children have been
forcibly taken to Russia.
Lvova-Belova had said last year around 800 orphan children from Ukraine were
taken to live with families or institutions in Moscow region and Novosibirsk,
Omsk and Tyumen regions in Siberia and Murmansk in the Arctic. Ukraine has said
more than 16,000 children have been taken away.
As Russia is not a member of the ICC, no Russian charged by the court can be
arrested from within the country without the permission of Moscow. Else, one
can only be arrested outside of Russia and brought to trial at the court..
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's office said the warrant is only the
beginning.
The ICC has 18 judges serving nine-year terms. It tries four types of crimes:
genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression and war crimes.
Putin has been accused of “attacks on civilians and energy-related infrastructure,
wilful killings, unlawful confinement, torture, rape and other sexual violence,
as well as unlawful transfers and deportations of children.”
Putin is the third President to be issued warrants by the court. The other
two were Sudan's Omar al-Bashir and Libya's Muammar Gaddafi.
The ICC deals with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes while the
International Court of Justice rules on disputes between Governments. The latter
does not prosecute individuals.
Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson, who opened a new chapter in
space age last month by launching the first manned private flight
to the edge of space, flying in his own spaceplane, has
invited everyone to join his expedition of space travel and
experience the thrill of totally losing your weight (BMI = 0) and enjoy
the mind-blowing sight of the earth's curvatures from the orbit far above: 
Can we ask the vaccinator, "Do you pull back the plunger and
then push the vaccine? Do you Aspirate?" When the vaccination
for covid started there were reports of worrisome incidents of
adverse events post immunisation, the serious complaints being
non-specific blood clots. These related to viral vector vaccines of
human and non-human source: AstraZeneca and Janssen. How
did it happen. There are various views. But here is a suggestion
how simply it can be prevented. 
While the rationalists debunk the episode as a ploy to make up for
the losses in offerings during the corona lockdown, the believers
stick to their claim, they have seen it after all! The claim of
Shankaralinga temple resembles the miracle of Ganesha drinking
milk in Delhi way back in 1995. Although they belong to two
different branches of science. 
A pair of socks gifted to her by her niece displayed on her legs has done
the job for Gumball Poodle. The demand for 'Future is Female' is
skyrocketing indeed. What more could one ask for?
