Russia said Monday that it had opened a criminal investigation into International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan after the court based in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin.
"The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case against the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Ahmad Khan" and several ICC judges, the Investigative Committee said, based on their "unlawful" decision to seek Putin's arrest.
Also Read | Why China and Russia are closer than ever
Khan is being investigated on the grounds of "criminal prosecution of a person known to be innocent... and preparation of an attack on a representative of a foreign state enjoying international protection," the statement from the Investigative Committee said.
The ICC on Friday announced an arrest warrant for Putin on the war crime accusation of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children.
The Hague-based ICC said it had also issued a warrant against Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's presidential commissioner for children's rights, on similar charges.
Moscow dismissed the orders as "void".
More than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the February 24, 2022 invasion, according to Kyiv, with many allegedly placed in institutions and foster homes.