Putin Defies War-Crimes Warrant With Plan to Visit Mongolia

  • Kremlin was told Mongolia won’t enforce ICC order, people said
  • Putin to make first visit to ICC member since 2023 warrant
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Vladimir Putin meets with Khurelsukh Ukhnaa in Astana, Kazakhstan, on July 3.Photographer: Sergei Guneyev/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
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Russian President Vladimir Putin received assurances ahead of a planned visit to Mongolia that he won’t be arrested for alleged war crimes under a warrant from the International Criminal Court, according to two people familiar with the Kremlin’s preparations.

The Sept. 3 visit will be the first by Putin to a member state of the ICC since the warrant was issued in March last year over the abduction of children from occupied areas of Ukraine. As a signatory to the Rome Statute governing the court, Mongolia is obliged to implement the warrant and arrest Putin if he appears on its territory.