Russia puts Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on wanted list
Russia's Ministry of Internal Affairs has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on a wanted list, according to the ministry's database on Saturday, May 4. Zelensky, born in 1978 and a native of the city of Kryvyi Rih in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, is wanted under the criminal code of the Russian Federation. The ministry did not provide further details.
Additionally, former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is also declared wanted in Russia. The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs' database states that the former head of state is wanted under the criminal code; however, the exact accusations against Poroshenko are unclear.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 17, 2023. In that case, details of the decision were disclosed immediately: the court suspects Putin of war crimes, particularly the forcible deportation of children from the occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia. A similar arrest warrant was issued for Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian President's commissioner for children's rights.
Moscow denies any involvement in war crimes committed in Ukraine following its assault on the neighboring country on February 24, 2022. Russia does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC and has not participated in its proceedings. Since mid-November 2016, Russia has ceased to be a party to the Rome Statute, which establishes the court's functions, jurisdiction, and structure. For its part, the ICC does not recognize the immunity of heads of state in cases involving the investigation and punishment of war crimes.