Ukraine live briefing: Turkey backs Finland’s NATO bid; ICC issues arrest warrant for Putin
Judges from the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued on Friday its first arrest warrants related to the war in Ukraine, for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights. The judges alleged that the two are responsible for the war crimes of “unlawful deportation” and “unlawful transfer” of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia. Russia “doesn’t recognize” the International Criminal Court, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists earlier this week.
Turkey is set to start the process to ratify Finland’s accession to NATO, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday at a news conference in Ankara, making the announcement after talks with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto. Finland requires unanimous approval by Turkey and all other NATO members to join the alliance. Along with Sweden, it announced its intention to join following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Erdogan is still expected to withhold approval of Sweden’s bid, and Sweden’s prime minister has said it is increasingly likely that Finland would join NATO first.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to Moscow next week and meet with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in his first visit since the war began. According to the Kremlin, Xi’s state visit will take place from March 20 to 22. While China has maintained that it is neutral in the Ukraine war, it has offered diplomatic support for Russia and accused Washington of turning the conflict into a “proxy” war.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
But collisions during intercepts are rare, even when involving drones. Analysts and officials warn that the war in Ukraine has only heightened the stakes, and the incident has fueled concern about the potential for the war in Ukraine to escalate into direct conflict between the two superpowers.
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