Russian officials are reportedly in a state of panic over the arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin, issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) last month. The arrest warrant was issued for Putin’s alleged war crimes in Ukraine after its invasion on 24 February 2022. The reports from the local news platforms claim that Russia is keeping a tough face against the arrest warrant, but a state of panic exists within the government.
On 17 March this year, the ICC issued an arrest warrant against two Russians- President Vladimir Putin and Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Ms. Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova. The allegations against both include war crimes and unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine.
The reports from the local news platform The Moscow Times claim that the senior officials in the Russian government are panicking over the arrest warrant and alleged it is a move to overthrow Vladimir Putin as the President of Russia.
“This is essentially a call to overthrow the government in Russia,” a ruling party politician, part of the government told The Moscow Times.
According to seven officials who were interviewed by the news outlet, there are concerns about how the International Criminal Court’s decision might affect political stability, how it could impact Vladimir Putin’s image on the global stage, and what consequences it might have on the Russian President’s ability to travel to other countries.
For now, the Russian President faces no immediate threat of arrest in Russia, where he has absolute power. But, things can get tricky if Vladimir Putin decides to leave the country or travel internationally. The Russian officials are pointing towards a possibility that ICC officials may arrest Vladimir Putin, outside Russia.
It’s more than a year now since the Russian and Ukrainian Army engaged in an intense firefight, with the death toll reaching thousands and also including civilians. The Russian military is accused of war crimes against the Ukrainian people in the captured areas.
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