KYIV, Ukraine — UK Defence Secretary John Healey has called for the arrest and prosecution of Russian President Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes committed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying he would personally take Putin into custody if given the opportunity.
Healey made the remarks in an interview with The Kyiv Independent while visiting a residential neighbourhood in Kyiv damaged by a Russian drone strike.
“I’d take Putin into custody, hold him accountable for these war crimes, hold him accountable for what I saw in Bucha on one of my first visits to Ukraine,” Healey said.
He cited the killings of civilians in Bucha, a Kyiv suburb that was occupied by Russian forces before being recaptured by Ukraine in 2022, as well as the abduction of Ukrainian children, which has drawn international condemnation and legal action.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin over the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian civilians, including children, from occupied Ukrainian territories into Russia, placing him under formal investigation for war crimes under international law.
Healey said Russia’s conduct showed a deliberate pattern of targeting civilians rather than just military forces.
“It tells you all you need to know about President Putin and his determination not just to wage a war on Ukraine, but to target civilians, cities, the infrastructure that people absolutely critically depend on in the middle of winter,” he said.
His comments came as Ukraine reported one of the heaviest combined drone and missile assaults in recent weeks. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 242 drones and 36 missiles in a single night, with Kyiv among the most heavily hit areas.
At least four people were killed and 24 others wounded in the attacks, which struck residential neighbourhoods and critical infrastructure, deepening humanitarian pressure as winter conditions persist.
“This is a man who must be stopped. This is a war that must be stopped. And our mission is to support Ukraine in its fight today and to help work to secure the peace for the moment,” Healey added.
The attacks form part of a broader campaign targeting Ukraine’s energy and civilian infrastructure. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia has intensified strikes on electricity, heating and water systems, disrupting basic services across multiple regions during freezing temperatures.
In a statement shared on X on January 11, Zelenskyy said repair teams were struggling to keep pace with the damage.
“Energy workers and repair crews are working around the clock to restore electricity, heat, and water supply for people,” he said, adding that the scale of repairs reflected the relentless pressure placed on civilian communities by repeated bombardment.
International law experts say attacks on civilian infrastructure and the forced transfer of children from occupied territories constitute serious violations of the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Healey’s remarks signal a hardening of the UK’s political stance on accountability, aligning London more closely with international justice efforts to hold Russian leadership legally responsible for the conduct of the war.
As the fighting continues and civilian casualties rise, the calls for Putin’s arrest underscore how the Ukraine conflict is increasingly being framed not only as a geopolitical war but as a test of the global system of criminal accountability for state leaders accused of atrocities.
