In August 2025, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the Court of being ‘an instrument of lawfare.’ Some may argue that law simply reflects political power: the ICC targets Putin rather than US officials because Russia, unlike America, lacks allies. Likewise, Serbian dictator Slobodan Milošević ultimately faced justice, dying in custody at The Hague during his trial for war crimes. Accountability mechanisms, such as the ICC and the International Court of Justice (ICJ), were later introduced to challenge this dominance. To bring Putin to justice, the US needed the clout of a globally respected court that was not under its control.