Zelensky visits ICC a day after Putin assassination attempt charges | World News

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky made an unannounced visit to the International Criminal Court on Thursday, which has Arrest warrant issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin accused of war crimes in Ukraine.

The visit was made one day later Zelensky denies Ukrainian military responsible for Kremlin’s alleged Putin assassination In the drone attack on Moscow. The Kremlin promised retaliation for what it called “terrorist” acts.

During a visit to Helsinki on Wednesday, Zelensky told reporters: “We didn’t attack Putin. We leave it to the courts” – apparently referring to the International Criminal Court.

Three Russian drones that struck the southern city of Odessa early Thursday had the words “For Moscow” and “For the Kremlin” on them, the Ukrainian military claimed, appearing to refer to Moscow’s airstrikes. In addition, Kiev was targeted by airstrikes for the third time in four days.

In total, the Ukrainian Air Force intercepted 18 of 24 Iranian-made drones launched by Russian forces in different regions. No casualties were reported.

Meanwhile, Zelensky is visiting The Hague, home to the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, the United Nations’ top judicial body. The Dutch city calls itself an international city of peace and justice.

Zelenskiy was welcomed outside the ICC building by the president of the court, Peter Hofmanski of Poland. Staff crowded the windows to catch Zelensky’s arrival and hoisted a Ukrainian flag outside the building next to the court’s own flag.

ICC judges announced last month that they found “reasonable grounds to believe” that Putin and his children’s rights commissioner were responsible for the illegal deportation and transfer of children from occupied Ukraine to Russia.

But Putin’s chances of being tried in The Hague are slim, the court has no police force to enforce arrest warrants, and the Russian leader is unlikely to travel to any of the ICC’s 123 members that are obliged to arrest him if he can.

In a March 18 statement, the ICC said Putin was “allegedly responsible for the war crimes of unlawful deportation and transfer (of children) from occupied Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan has visited Ukraine several times and is setting up an office in Kiev to facilitate his ongoing investigation.

However, the ICC does not have the authority to prosecute Putin for aggression — the illegal invasion of another sovereign state. The Dutch government has proposed setting up a court to prosecute the crime of aggression and is setting up an office to collect evidence.

Eurojust, the European Union’s judicial cooperation agency, said in February that a new center for the prosecution of the crime of international aggression should be operational by the summer.

Controversy continues to surround Russia’s claim that it foiled a Ukrainian drone attack on the Kremlin earlier on Wednesday.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that Putin was not in the Kremlin at the time but was at his residence in Novo-Ogaryovo outside Moscow.

There was no independent verification of the alleged attack, which Russian authorities said happened overnight but offered no evidence to back it up. Others questioned why it took the Kremlin hours to report the incident, and why its video also surfaced later in the day.

White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre said the United States “could not verify” the truth of Russia’s claim that Ukraine had attacked Moscow. Asked whether the U.S. considered Putin a legitimate target for any potential Ukrainian attack, Jean-Pierre said that since the start of the conflict, the U.S. “has not encouraged or allowed Ukraine to carry out attacks outside its borders.”

Asked if the U.S. was concerned that the allegation could be a false flag operation by Russia as a pretext for more aggressive military action against Ukraine, Jean-Pierre said she did not want to speculate, but added, “Obviously Russia has done history of such things.”

The Netherlands has staunchly supported Ukraine’s war effort since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. The military equipment promised by Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s government includes 14 modern Leopard 2 tanks, which were purchased with Denmark. They are expected to be delivered next year. The Netherlands has also joined forces with Germany and Denmark to purchase at least 100 older Leopard 1 tanks for Ukraine.

Among other military assets, it dispatched two Patriot air defense missile systems, pledged to dispatch two Navy minehunters and sent military forensic experts to assist in the investigation of war crimes. Zelensky’s visit coincides with a day when the Dutch remember their war dead.

Two Russian oil facilities in the country’s southern region near Ukraine have been hit by drones, Russian media said on Thursday, in what appears to be a series of attacks on oil depots behind enemy lines.

Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, citing law enforcement sources, reported that four drones struck an oil refinery in the Krasnodar region. Another facility was reportedly attacked in the neighboring Rostov region.