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The ICC issued arrest warrants, as the two are suspected of having committed war crimes related to the Russo-Ukrainian war.
The ICC accused Lvova-Belova and Russian President Vladimir Putin of illegally deporting the children from Ukraine to Russia.
Who is Maria Alekseevba Lvova-Belova.?
Lvova-Belova, also known as 'Mother Russia', has worked as Commissioner for Children's Rights for the Russian government since 2021.
Not long ago, Belova was frequently reported by the local Russian media, for allegedly helping to connect children in Ukraine with prospective Russian parents who wanted to adopt them.
In mid-2022, Lvova-Belova adopted a Ukrainian teenager into her family.
The child is from the city of Mariupol, which is now under Russian control.
The Ukrainian teenager was allegedly used as an example and proof of the success of the adoption process from Ukraine to Russia.
According to Lvova-Belova, after a few months the teenager started to love Russia.
"When we took them to the Moscow region, at first they spoke negatively about Putin, said all kinds of bad things, sang the Ukrainian national anthem,"
But then they turned into love for Russia,"|Maria Lvova-Belova, reported by Newsweek.
Last February 2022, Lvova-Belova visited the Russian-occupied territory of Ukraine, and took the children there for adoption.
According to reports obtained, it was Russian President Vladimir Putin who granted Lvova-Belova permission to restore conditions for children without parental care in the territory of Ukraine illegally annexed by Russia.
Some of these regions include Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Luhansk, and Donetsk.
Through her Telegram channel, Lvova-Belova also often shares photos and videos of children who seem to be enjoying their new family in Russia.
However, the ICC ruled that Maria Lvova-Belova's actions violated the law by illegally deporting children from occupied Ukraine to Russia.
The ICC issued a statement that; "These crimes were committed on the territory of Ukraine since February 24, 2022, when Russia started military operations in Ukraine,"
"There are good grounds for holding Lvova-Belova as an individual criminally responsible for the crimes mentioned above, for having committed those acts directly together with another person and/or through another person,"|the ICC statement
Russian President Vladimir Putin has also faced similar accusations.
The ICC has also officially issued a warrant for the arrest of Russian President, Vladimir Putin, for allegedly deporting children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.
| Narrative: Law, Crime, Government,
|Text: W.J.B
| Literacy Resources: CNN, Newsweek, W.J.B,
