How Russians Reacted to Warrant for Putin's Arrest

Russians have weighed in on the decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin.

Muscovites were asked by Radio Echo of the Caucasus on Saturday for their response to the decision of the ICC, which is based in The Hague in the Netherlands. The media outlet is a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty project broadcasting in Russian in Georgia.

The ICC concluded on Friday that Putin committed war crimes in his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, that started almost 13 months ago, citing the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children. It marked the first time an arrest warrant has been issued against a leader of one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's minister of internal affairs, shared the clip of interviewees on his Twitter account on Monday. "'We will protect him' Russian people do not believe that Putin can be arrested. They didn't believe about Milosevic either, and Gaddafi didn't even make it to court. So there are a lot of different options!," he tweeted as a caption.

Radio Echo of the Caucasus interviewed four Moscow residents on the topic.

"Putin—no one will arrest him. Rather, he will arrest everyone," one man said.

Another said the "people of Russia" will "protect [Putin]."

A woman told the media outlet that "it would be a pity" if Putin were to be arrested.

"I don't think it's possible, to be honest," she added. "Because this is a public figure and the president of the country."

The ICC's chief prosecutor Karim Khan announced on March 2, 2022 that his office would be looking into possible war crimes committed in Ukraine, after nearly 40 ICC member states put in a request for an investigation.

That decision followed a growing number of officials and world leaders calling for Putin to be held accountable as the civilian death toll rose in Ukraine, just days into the war.

Khan said on Friday that his office had identified the deportation of "at least hundreds of children taken from orphanages and children's care homes."

The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Maria Lvova-Belova, the commissioner for Children's Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation. According to the court, she and Putin are personally responsible for the forced deportation of children from occupied Ukrainian territories to Russia.

Moscow does not recognize the ICC's jurisdiction or extradite its nationals, therefore it is highly unlikely that Putin will face trial at the ICC.

Kremlin propagandists have reacted angrily to the ICC's decision in appearances on state TV.

Do you have a tip on a world news story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the Russia-Ukraine war? Let us know via worldnews@newsweek.com.