The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Putin over alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
A warrant was also issued for Maria Lvova-Belova, the Commissioner for Children's Rights in the Russian Federation.
ICC judges said the pre-trial Chamber has confirmed that there are reasonable grounds to believe that President Putin and Ms Lvova-Belova bear criminal responsibility for the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, contrary to article 8(2)(a)(vii) and Article 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute.
Prosecutor Karim AA Khan KC said incidents identified by his Office include the deportation of at least hundreds of children taken from orphanages and children's care homes, many given up for adoption.
Read the full statement from the ICC here.
