Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyi commented on the Hague Court's warrant for Putin's arrest and emphasized that this case has a real perspective.

He said this on March 17 during his evening address.

"A historic decision, from which historic responsibility will begin. The head of the terrorist state and another official of Russia have officially become suspects in a war crime. The deportation of Ukrainian children is the illegal transfer of thousands of our children to the territory of the terrorist state," Zelenskyy said.

According to him, more than 16,000 cases of forced deportation of Ukrainian children by the occupier have already been recorded in criminal proceedings investigated by Ukrainian law enforcement officers.

However, the real number of deportees may be much higher.

"It would be impossible to carry out such a criminal operation without the order of the highest leader of the terrorist state. Separating children from their families, depriving them of any opportunity to contact their relatives, hiding children on the territory of Russia, scattering them in remote regions - all this is an obvious state policy Russia's policy, state decisions and state evil, which begins precisely with the first official of this state," the president emphasized.

Zelensky thanked the team of prosecutor Karim Khan and the International Criminal Court, "everyone in the world who helps us fight for justice."

"I am grateful for the principles and for the readiness to really bring to justice those who are guilty. So far, it has been possible to return a little more than 300 children out of all those who were taken away by force, stolen from Ukraine. It is obvious that we have to return them all. It is obvious that we will continue to do everything for this. For the return of every Ukrainian man, every Ukrainian woman, every one of our children. And for the real responsibility of all those responsible for this deportation - from the head of the terrorist state to all the executors," Zelenskyy stressed.

It will be recalled that on March 17, the International Criminal Court in The Hague announced that it had issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.

They are considered guilty of war crimes against citizens of Ukraine.

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