ICC: Putin arrest warrant will stand even if Russia and Ukraine reach amnesty agreement

The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin will still remain in force even if Moscow and Kyiv reach a peace agreement that includes a general amnesty, Reuters reported on Friday, citing ICC prosecutors.

The ICC issued an international arrest warrant for Putin and his Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova Belova in 2023 for their alleged responsibility for the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia, which the ICC believed amounted to a war crime.

Deputy prosecutors Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal and Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji said a UN Security Council resolution would be required to suspend court-issued warrants.

An early version of the 28-point peace plan, which was reportedly drafted by US and Russian officials in November without Kyiv’s participation, stipulated that “all parties involved in the conflict will receive full amnesty for their actions during the war”.  It is unclear whether this condition remains in the revised plan following negotiations between Washington and the Ukrainian delegation.

“Apart from the bracket we mentioned in respect of the Security Council route, we are obligated to observe our statute, which does not give weight to some of those political arrangements,” Niang noted.

Other high-profile Russian officials sought by the ICC include former Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, commander of Russia’s Long-Range Aviation Sergey Kobylash and commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Viktor Sokolov, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine, including the launching of attacks on civilians and civilian targets.

Russia does not recognise the ICC’s jurisdiction. Putin travelled to an ICC member state, Mongolia, in October 2024, but was not arrested there, as a Mongolian government spokesperson said at the time that the country found itself in a difficult position due to its energy dependence on its immediate neighbours, including Russia.