Poland Warns It Could Force Down Putin's Plane Over ICC War Crime Charges

Poland has issued a firm warning that if Russian President Vladimir Putin attempts to fly over Polish airspace en route to a proposed summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Budapest, his plane could be forcibly landed and he could be arrested and transferred to The Hague to face charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes. This warning follows the ICC's 2023 arrest warrant for Putin related to alleged war crimes, which obliges member states like Poland to detain him if he enters their jurisdiction. Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, have condemned Poland's stance as threatening and accused Poland of potentially committing "terrorist acts" against Putin's plane, while Hungary, where the summit is planned, has indicated Putin could enter without risk of arrest. The planned Trump-Putin summit has been put on hold after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Lavrov canceled a key pre-meeting amid differing expectations about ending the war in Ukraine. Poland's Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski stressed that Putin would need to find an alternative flight path to avoid Polish airspace, underscoring the legal and diplomatic tensions surrounding the prospective meeting. This development highlights the complex interplay between international law enforcement obligations, geopolitical alliances, and ongoing efforts to negotiate peace in the Ukraine conflict.