Rejecting Allegations Of International Criminal Court, Russian Child Commissioner: The Basis Of Unclear Allegations

JAKARTA - The Russian Commissioner for the Rights of the Child on Tuesday rejected the accusations of the International Criminal Court (ICC), that she was responsible for the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine, as wrong.

The ICC based in The Hague, Netherlands on March 17 issued arrest warrants against President Vladimir Putin and Children's Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, for war crimes by illegally deporting children from territories of Ukraine occupied by Russian forces.

The ICC said it had information that hundreds of children had been taken from orphanages and nursing homes in areas of Ukraine claimed by Russia. Some of the children, the ICC said, had been given up for adoption in Russia.

Lvova-Belova told a press conference in Moscow that consent was always sought from the children's parents, that the commission acted in the best interests of each child, and that it was more appropriate to talk about guardianship than adoption.

If there is a particular problem with a particular family, she said she is ready to help solve it.

"It is not clear to the commissioner for the rights of the child what the International Criminal Court allegations are and what the charges are based on," she said in a statement about her work released before a news conference.

"The use of the formula 'unlawful deportation of residents (children)' in official ICC statements causes confusion," she said, adding that her party had not received any documents from the ICC, whose jurisdiction Russia does not recognize.

Donetsk and Luhansk, two Ukrainian territories claimed and partly controlled by Russia, have asked Russia to accept civilians, including orphans and children whose parents are missing, the commission said.

Lvova-Belova said Russia had accepted more than 5 million refugees from Ukraine's Donbas region, including 730,000 children, since February 2022.

Lvova-Belova rejected the ICC accusations, accusations from Ukraine, and what her commission called disinformation from foreign journalists about the alleged "deportation of children" which she said was untrue.

She dismissed claims that children had been taken to camps for alleged re-education, and her commission, she said, was not aware of a single case of a child from eastern Ukraine being separated from blood relatives to be handed over to an orphanage.

Separately, the Kremlin said the ICC arrest warrant was a strictly partisan decision. Russian officials deny committing war crimes in Ukraine.

Putin's allies have deemed the ICC, which is not recognized by countries such as China and the United States, as an "illegitimate legal entity."

It is known, since the invasion, Ukraine has regarded Russia as a brutal aggressor who has committed war crimes, including the kidnapping of children.

Russia, on the other hand, said it was carrying out a "special military operation," calling the West ignorant of crimes committed by Ukraine.