The Russian Interior Ministry has added to its wanted list International Criminal Court judge Tomoko Akane, who issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As reported by the TASS agency, the database of the Russian Interior Ministry has included the Japanese magistrate, “wanted under the Penal Code”, without detailing which article is the one that would have violated.

Russia's Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against the ICC leadership in March in retaliation for arrest warrants issued against Putin and top child rights official Maria Lvova-Belova for allowing the alleged forced deportation of Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied areas.

At least 16,000 displaced children

This committee pointed out, in addition to Tomoko, judges Rosario Salvatore Aitala and Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godinez, as well as the attorney general, Karim Khan, for incriminating a supposedly innocent person and accusing a protected foreign agent.

The Kremlin has consistently denied that it is forcibly deporting Ukrainian children in the face of accusations made by kyiv and its allies.. According to the Ukrainian government, at least 16,000 children have ended up displaced against their will to Russian territory since the beginning of the conflict, while a recent study presented in February by Yale University denounced at least 6,000 Ukrainian children distributed among 40 Russian boarding schools.

The arrest warrants against Putin and Lvova-Belova represent the first international charges filed since the start of the conflict and come after months of work by a special investigative team under the ICC's chief prosecutor.. For its issuance it has been necessary for a preliminary panel of judges to accept the validity of the evidence presented.

This committee pointed out, in addition to Tomoko, judges Rosario Salvatore Aitala and Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godinez, as well as the attorney general, Karim Khan, for incriminating a supposedly innocent person and accusing a protected foreign agent.