In a historic move, the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and one of his high-ranking officials, Maria Lvova-Belova. Mr. Putin is now formally accused of war crimes for allegedly forcibly removing Ukrainian children and deporting them to Russia in violation of the Geneva Conventions.

The charges against Mr. Putin and Ms. Lvova-Belova are the result of an extensive investigation into the illegal activities of Russian-backed forces during their campaign in Ukraine. According to the ICC, there are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Putin and Ms. Lvova-Belova are individually responsible for these horrific acts.

Officially, the Russian government denies any wrong-doing and asserts that it is not subject to the ICC’s jurisdiction. President Putin has labeled these accusations as “groundless” and claims the policy of relocating Ukrainian children is a form