Russian dictator Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing to ignore sentences of international criminal institutions if Russia did not participate in their creation or did not sign relevant treaties. This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (CCD), according to UNN.
Details
It is noted that this primarily refers to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Russia withdrew its signature from the Rome Statute back in 2016, and in March 2023, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova for the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children. The new law is an attempt to legally protect the Kremlin leadership from international responsibility for war crimes.
It is indicated that the Kremlin presents international courts as an "instrument of the West" to pressure the Russian judicial system and interfere in sovereignty, trying to discredit the very idea of international law and form a narrative about its "optionality."
Such rhetoric is an element of hybrid warfare and is aimed at undermining trust in mechanisms for bringing to justice for crimes against humanity. The Russian Ministry of Justice directly states that the law is directed against the creation of a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, which is currently being formed on the basis of the Council of Europe. Russia has already declared it "unjust."
They emphasize that Russia's refusal to recognize international justice is an open signal that Moscow does not plan to stop aggression and bear responsibility for what it has done.
"This once again confirms the need to strengthen sanctions, launch a special tribunal, and hold representatives of the Kremlin regime personally accountable," the CCD concludes.
Recall
The share of Russian citizens who consider it necessary to continue hostilities against Ukraine decreased to 25%, which is the lowest figure since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.