Mongolia’s decision not to arrest Vladimir Putin on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant has seriously undermined international criminal law, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said on Monday. The Russian president arrived in Mongolia for talks that were expected to focus on a new gas pipeline connecting Russia and China. Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhiy Tykhyi criticized Mongolia for allowing Putin, an accused war criminal, to escape justice, thus sharing responsibility for his alleged crimes.
The ICC emphasized last week that all member states are obliged to detain individuals wanted by the court. However, if Mongolia refuses to comply, little can be done to enforce the warrant. Altantuya Batdorj, executive director of Amnesty International Mongolia, warned that any ICC member state that fails to arrest Putin will encourage him and weaken the ICC’s authority.
In Brussels, the European Commission urged Mongolia to fulfill its obligations under the Rome Statute of the ICC, which it joined in 2002. Human Rights Watch noted Mongolia was one of 94 countries that recently reaffirmed their support for the ICC. Mongolia welcomed Putin with a guard of honor, showing no indication of his arrest, and has not responded to international calls to respect the warrant.
Meanwhile, Russian forces have advanced 477 square kilometers in Ukraine, marking their largest monthly gain since October 2022, according to the Institute for the Study of War. Ukraine has also made significant gains but recently faced a slowdown in its advance into Russia’s Kursk region.
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Russian forces launched missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, including Dnipro and Kharkiv, causing casualties and damage. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for more military support from Western allies, including permission to use their weapons for strikes deep inside Russia.
In Kyiv, children returned to school amid Russian drone and missile attacks. Despite the war, Ukraine’s government is preparing for a large number of refugee children to attend Polish schools this autumn, many for the first time since the pandemic and war began. Ukraine’s defense minister, Rustem Umerov, met with his French counterpart to discuss frontline conditions and joint defense ventures.
In Russia, Maj Gen Valery Mumindzhanov, a senior military commander, was detained in a fraud case, becoming the ninth high-ranking officer to face such charges recently.
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