SPUTNIK
The announcement by the International Criminal Court that an arrest warrant was issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin caused shockwaves in Moscow. Even before the announcement, the pro-regime propagandists expressed their concerns about the possibility of being charged with war crimes by the Hague tribunal. Nonetheless, many were taken completely off-guard when the charges were announced, since they apparently believed that this turn of events was possible only if Russia lost the war in Ukraine.
Radio host Sergey Mardan said it was “strange” that the ICC had decided to charge Putin for the illegal deportation of children and unlawful transfer of citizens from Ukraine to Russia, which are war crimes: “It seems to me like all of us were bewildered. I had the feeling that our entire system did not anticipate that they would make such a crazy and irreversible move,” he said.
His guest, Henry Sardaryan, Dean at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations complained that the news of the ICC’s charges dominated the Russian social media since the announcement became public.