Joseph Biden, the vice president of the United States, said Putin “obviously” committed war crimes in Ukraine, and he applauded the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to issue an arrest warrant for Putin.
Moscow has rejected the warrant as having no legal merit because it is issued by an international court that Moscow is not a signatory to. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian government is celebrating what they call a “historic” development in the fight for fairness. Keep up with the latest developments in the Ukrainian conflict by reading our live blog. Times are in the GMT+1 Paris time zone.
8:35 am: “Very symbolic” ICC arrest order for Putin
FRANCE 24’s Kyiv reporter Emmanuelle Chaze says that it is exceedingly improbable that Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, will ever be tried by the International Criminal Court (ICC) because Moscow does not recognize the jurisdiction of the court and does not extradite its people.
The moral criticism, however, will follow the Russian leader wherever he goes, including to any of the 123 member states that are technically obligated to arrest him if he attends an international conference in their territory.
6:25 am: Turkey optimistic of Ukraine grain deal extension
The present agreement between Ukraine and Russia to export grain expires just before midnight on Saturday, Istanbul time, and Turkey hopes it can be extended for another 120 days to help alleviate a worldwide food crisis.
The deadline is coming up,” Hulusi Akar, Turkey’s defense minister, warned on Friday. Ukraine and Russia have been contacted regarding a possible extension of the current accord.
Ukraine’s Black Sea ports were closed off by Russian warships in February 2022, during Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country.
