Putin aware 'he is cornered' in Ukraine: Ex-Estonian Foreign Intelligence chief
"I can't predict whether we're talking about months or years, but we shouldn't expect that the war ends in the coming weeks," said Marran.
- World News
- 2 min read
Former Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service chief, Mikk Marran, on Monday lambasted Russian President Vladimir Putin saying that the authoritarian leader "knows that he is cornered" but would not give up on his military ambitions in neighbouring Ukraine. Putin will "double down rather than change course", he told Newsweek, adding that Putin is "obsessive" about capturing Ukraine.
"I can't predict whether we're talking about months or years, but we shouldn't expect that the war ends in the coming weeks," said Marran, currently the CEO of the Estonian State Forest Management Center. "Putin is still very much focused on getting this thing done in Ukraine that he started. But of course, he will fail."
Putin held responsible for war crimes in Ukraine
Marran's remarks come against the backdrop of the International Criminal Court's decision to issue an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. Ukraine's Presidency welcomed the decision, saying: "The International Criminal Court's decision to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin was only the first step in restoring justice in the aftermath of Russia's invasion." Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that the warrant for Putin's arrest issued by the Hague for the war crimes in Ukraine during the ongoing conflict "is just the beginning of the story".
International Criminal Court (ICC) in a statement said: "Putin is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of the population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin and Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights in the Russian Federation, Maria Lvova-Belova, alleging that they are responsible for war crimes, including the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia. Such a biased and one-sided decision of the International Criminal Court has "no meaning for our country, including from a legal point of view", said Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova in a statement issued by Russian MFA. "Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and does not bear any obligations under it. Russia does not co-operate with this body, and possible "recipes" for arrest coming from the International Court will be legally null and void for us," the diplomat asserted.