ICC arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin (2023) and Interpol arrest warrant for Victor Yanukovych (2015)

I cannot fully understand the joy with which Ukrainians received information this spring that the International Criminal Court had issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights because of allegedly forced transfer of Ukrainian citizens including children to the Russian territory during the Russian Special Military Operation in Ukraine.

Ukrainians have probably forgotten that they had similarly jubilated when in January 2015 Interpol had issued an arrest warrant (a Red Notice) for Victor Yanukovych, the former Ukrainian President, whom Ukrainian authorities had accused in Interpol of a large-scale unlawful appropriation of property; please see here.

However, after 2.5 years (in May 2017) Interpol employees announced that Ukraine had failed to produce proofs that Yanukovych had really appropriated the above-mentioned property. And Ukraine actually demanded his arrest and extradition only for political reasons. Therefore, the information about Yanukovych was removed from the Interpol data base and you can see it yourself on the official website of Interpol.

Certainly, Ukrainian politicians immediately declared that Russia had bribed Interpol but the irony of the situation is that over almost ten years (since 2014) the Ukrainian authorities failed to prove any unlawful appropriation of property by Yanukovych even in Ukrainian courts.

And it was no wonder that Interpol employees had dismissed Ukrainian accusations as groundless already 6 years ago.

Therefore, I suggest not to jump to conclusions about the ICC arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin too. As experience has shown, Ukrainians love very much to mislead international organizations.