CNN — Winning tennis matches hasn’t been Emma Raducanu’s only concern lately – staying injury free has become tricky for the British star. The 20-year-old has suffered a myriad of injuries over
The White House says it “remains to be seen” whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will ultimately face justice for alleged war crimes after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest Friday, but the US will continue to help Ukraine document Moscow’s misdeeds.
“We’re going to stay committed to helping Ukraine as they document and analyze and preserve the kinds of evidence of the war crimes, the atrocities, the crimes against humanity that have occurred inside Ukraine at the hands of Russian forces,” National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Friday.
The United States does not recognize the ICC, but Kirby said the US is “not going to back off our belief that accountability for these war crimes has got to be had, however long that takes.”
Kirby said the US wants to see “any perpetrators of war crimes held to account,” but he declined to say if US President Joe Biden would tell law enforcement to arrest Putin if he came to the US. He said it was “very, very unlikely” the Russian leader would travel to the United States.
Asked if the US would ask other countries like Israel or India – who also do not recognize the ICC – to arrest the Russian leader, Kirby said it would “have to be sovereign decisions those leaders make.”
Remember: Russia also does not recognize the ICC, and the court does not conduct trials in absentia, so Putin would either have to be turned over by Moscow or arrested in a foreign country for him to face charges from the court.
Moscow’s ties to Beijing: Tapper also asked Kirby if there was any intelligence indicating China has decided to give Russia weapons to help with the country’s assault on Ukraine.
“We don’t believe that they’ve taken it off the table still, but we also don’t see any indication, any confirmation, that they’re moving in that direction or that … they have sent lethal weapons,” Kirby said.
“We don’t think it’s in their interest. It shouldn’t be in anybody’s interest, quite frankly, to help Mr. Putin continue to slaughter innocent Ukrainians,” he added.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping will fly to Moscow next week to meet with Putin in his first visit to Russia since Putin launched his devastating invasion of Ukraine more than a year ago.
The visit will be seen as a powerful show of Beijing’s support for Moscow in Western capitals, where leaders have grown increasingly wary of the two nations’ deepening partnership as war rages in Europe.
CNN’s Nectar Gan and Anna Chernova contributed to this report.
Don't Miss
CNN
—
Winning tennis matches hasn’t been Emma Raducanu’s only concern lately – staying injury free has become tricky for the British star.
The 20-year-old has suffered a myriad of injuries over the past 18 months which has blighted her hopes of on-court success.
But Raducanu’s run at Indian Wells has shown glimpses of the form that brought her grand slam success in 2021 as she advanced to the last 16 of Indian Wells on Monday after beating No. 13 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in three sets, 6-1 2-6 6-4.
In doing so, Raducanu advanced to the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open for the first time in her career, as well as winning three successive matches for only the second time since winning the US Open in September 2021.
Raducanu last managed three successive victories in 2022 at the WTA 250 in Seoul, South Korea, before she was forced to retire against Jelena Ostapenko in the semifinals once again due to injury.
Following victory over Brazilian Haddad Maia – Raducanu’s highest-ranked scalp since her US Open victory almost two years ago – the Briton’s analysis was that she played a “really high level at some points of the match.”
“I think that I played extremely well in the first set and in the third set as well,” Raducanu told reporters. “There were some really good points and moments. I think overall the level increased in the third, and it was a battle from both of us.”
As well as a lingering wrist injury that hampered her last season, Raducanu suffered an ankle injury before the Australian Open earlier this year, while tonsillitis forced her to withdraw from the Austin Open last month.
Following her victory over world No. 21 Magda Linette in the previous round at Indian Wells, Raducanu admitted she still wasn’t “pain free.”
However, Raducanu got off to a flying start against Haddad Maia, breaking her twice in the first set.
The 26-year-old Brazilian showed her own resolve – and why she won the second most matches on the WTA last year – breaking Raducanu twice in the second set to level the match.
In a nail-biting final set, Raducanu showed plenty of grit to end a six-match losing run against top-20 opposition.
The current world No. 77 will now faces world No. 1 Iga Świątek in the next round after the three-time grand slam winner continued her impressive form in 2023 by beating 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu in straight sets.
Don't Miss
