By Simon Lewis
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -There is no doubt Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Friday after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“There is no doubt that Russia is committing war crimes and atrocities (in) Ukraine, and we have been clear that those responsible must be held accountable,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
“This was a decision the ICC prosecutor reached independently based on the facts before him.”
Washington has separately concluded that Russian forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine and supports accountability for perpetrators of war crimes, the spokesperson added.
The United States is not a member of the ICC.
The court earlier on Friday called for Putin’s arrest on suspicion of unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of people from Ukraine to Russia since Moscow’s invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
A U.S.-backed report by Yale University researchers last month said Russia has held at least 6,000 Ukrainian children in at least 43 camps and other facilities as part of a “large-scale systematic network”.
Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations that its forces have committed atrocities during its one-year invasion of its neighbor, and the Kremlin branded the court decision as “null and void.”
(Reporting by Simon Lewis; Editing by Chris Reese and Cynthia Osterman)
