On 17 March 2023, following an investigation of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights, for the unlawful deportation and transfer of children from Ukraine to Russia during the invasion.[20] According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, over 307,000 children were transferred to Russia from 24 February to 18 June 2022, alone.[21] In April 2023, the Council of Europe deemed the forced transfers of children as constituting an act of genocide in with an overwhelming majority of 87 in favour of the resolution to 1 against and 1 abstaining.[22]
The director of Amnesty International Ukraine, in an interview with Deutsche Welle on 4 April 2022, accused Russia of using targeted tactics to deplete the civilian population in besieged cities (deliberately cutting off access to food, water, electricity, and heat supply) and bringing them to a humanitarian catastrophe. There were noted cases of blocking humanitarian corridors, shelling of buses, killing of civilians who tried to leave the besieged cities.[31]
“Who’s to say that Ukraine will exist on the world map in two years at all?”
Dmitry Medvedev, 15 June 2022[96]
“The Ukraine that you and I had known, within the borders that used to be, no longer exists, and will never exist again”.
Maria Zakharova, 19 June 2022[97]
“But if you don’t want us to convince you, we’ll kill you. We’ll kill as many as necessary: one million, five million, or exterminate all of you”.
Pavel Gubarev, 11 October 2022[98]
“These are the non-humans that the Ukrainian Maidan spawned. Religion in Ukraine is replaced by them with false faith and sectarianism, and the junta itself is first replaced by them.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegations_of_genocide_of_Ukrainians_in_the_Russo-Ukrainian_War
“Who’s to say that Ukraine will exist on the world map in two years at all?”
Dmitry Medvedev, 15 June 2022[96]
“The Ukraine that you and I had known, within the borders that used to be, no longer exists, and will never exist again”.
Maria Zakharova, 19 June 2022[97]
“But if you don’t want us to convince you, we’ll kill you. We’ll kill as many as necessary: one million, five million, or exterminate all of you”.
Pavel Gubarev, 11 October 2022[98]
“These are the non-humans that the Ukrainian Maidan spawned. Religion in Ukraine is replaced by them with false faith and sectarianism, and the junta itself is first replaced by them.”
Vladimir Putin, 12 December 2022[99]