Ukraine's Foreign Ministry calls on Mongolia to hand over Putin to The Hague

In a statement issued on Aug. 30, the department expressed hope that Mongolia would comply with the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued an arrest warrant for Putin on charges of the unlawful abduction of Ukrainian children to Russia.

The ministry stressed that the forcible removal of children is not the only crime for which Putin and other members of Russia's military and political leadership should be held accountable.

"These individuals are guilty of the war of aggression against Ukraine, atrocities against the Ukrainian people, murders, rapes, robberies, shelling of civilian infrastructure, and genocide," the statement said.

The ministry urged Mongolia to execute the arrest warrant and hand Putin over to the ICC in The Hague.

Bloomberg reported on Aug. 30, citing sources, that the Mongolian government has assured Russia that it will not arrest Putin during his visit to the country, despite the ICC warrant.

Mongolia has been a member of the ICC since 2000 and ratified the Rome Statute in 2003, which obliges the country to comply with the decisions of the ICC judges. On March 17, 2023, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Putin and Russian Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova.