Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s children commissioner, dismissed an arrest warrant issued against her and Russian President Vladimir Putin by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Lvova-Belova is the official at the center of the alleged scheme to forcibly deport thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia.
In response, Lvova-Belova said it is “great” that the international community has noticed her work, according to Russian state news agency TASS on Friday.
"It's great that the international community has appreciated the work to help the children of our country, that we do not leave them in the war zones, that we take them out, that we create good conditions for them, that we surround them with loving, caring people,” she said to reporters according to TASS.
Key background: According to the US and several European governments, Putin's administration forcibly deported thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia, often to a network of dozens of camps, where the minors undergo political reeducation.
“Lvova-Belova’s efforts specifically include the forced adoption of Ukrainian children into Russian families, the so-called ‘patriotic education’ of Ukrainian children, legislative changes to expedite the provision of Russian Federation citizenship to Ukrainian children, and the deliberate removal of Ukrainian children by Russia’s forces,” the US Treasury said in September.
CNN's Hira Humayun contributed reporting to this post.