President Joe Biden said on Friday that the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin was “justified” as the country continues to carry out large-scale attacks in Ukraine.
On Friday, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin and the Russian presidential commissioner for children’s rights, accusing them of war crimes and involvement in illegal deportations and transfers of Ukrainian children from occupied regions of Ukraine to Russia. This step means that Putin will set foot in any court 123 member statesThat country is obligated to arrest him. The United States is not among the member states that recognize the International Criminal Court.
“I think it’s justified,” Biden said, referring to the memo. Reuters And hill. He noted that the US did not recognize the arrest warrant, but that Putin “clearly committed war crimes,” Biden added.
Meanwhile, Russian forces launched 34 air strikes, one missile strike and 57 rounds of anti-aircraft fire over a 24-hour period, Ukrainian military officials said Saturday morning.
- Falling debris in southern Kherson destroyed seven houses and a kindergarten overnight Friday.
- One person was killed and three wounded in the bombing of 11 towns and villages in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region on Friday, Pavlo Kirilenko, the province’s governor, said.
- Houses were damaged and a catering company was destroyed when Russian missiles hit a residential area in the southeastern city of Zaporizhia on Friday night. There were no reports of injuries.
- Ukrainian Air Force officials said it shot down 11 out of 16 Russian drones on Friday night amid attacks in the central, western and eastern parts of the country.
Developments:
- A grain deal aimed at easing soaring global food prices was extended Saturday. According to Turkish state media. The UN humanitarian coordinator called for the extension on Friday, as the deal nears expiry. Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations said Moscow would extend the agreement, but only for 60 days. The agreement allows Ukraine, one of the world’s most important breadbaskets, to export grain from three of its Black Sea ports.
- Head of the Russian private military group Wagner Announce Saturday on Telegram It plans to recruit about 30,000 new fighters by mid-May.
- On Friday, British and German fighters intercepted a Russian plane that was flying near Estonian airspace. said the RAF. This is the second time they have intercepted a Russian plane off the Estonian coast.
Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Russia
Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to fly to Moscow next week to meet Putin in what appears to be a show of support for the Russian leader. Xi’s visit is expected to extend from Monday to Wednesday.
China has previously refused to condemn Russia over the war in Ukraine, but has denounced Western sanctions against the country and accused NATO and the United States of provoking Putin.
The Biden administration has warned against China’s push for a unilateral peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukraine celebrates nine years since the annexation of Crimea
On Saturday, Ukraine marked the ninth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea by pledging to return all Ukrainian lands that Moscow occupied.
“For nine consecutive years, Crimea has been suffering under the criminal regime of the Kremlin, which has turned it into a military outpost, a zone of lack of freedom, harassment, aggression and terror against everything and everyone who has found the courage to resist their rights and democratic values,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. and defend it.” According to CNN.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 in a move that many countries in the world condemned as illegal.
“It is our duty to return freedom to the peninsula,” said Emina Dzibar, Ukraine’s first deputy foreign minister. In a Twitter statement.
international leaders, including in the UK, Finland And SwedenHe also decried the annexation of the Black Sea Peninsula from Ukraine and affirmed his support for the country. Meanwhile, Putin visited Crimea on Saturday to celebrate the anniversary.
Contributing: The Associated Press
Contact Christine Fernando at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter at @tweet.
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