Heads of State as War Criminals: The Prospects and Challenges of Tracing War Crimes to Senior Political Leaders in Russia

War crimes are not typically leadership crimes, unlike aggression. In cases where they mobilize important state resources, are committed on a large or consistent scale or are ordered at the highest level, one question is how they can be attributed to heads of state. This chapter discusses some ways in which Vladimir Putin, the current President of Russia, could be brought to trial for alleged war crimes being committed by Russian armed forces in Ukraine. Specifically, it investigates some modes of liability under which could he be held criminally responsible that would particularly make sense of his special responsibilities as head of state. Two main possibilities are discussed: ordering and superior/command responsibility. We evaluate what specific challenges and opportunities each of these options involve. We contend that command or superior responsibility would probably come with the highest chance of success and express a strong sense that the head of state is ultimately responsible for how their troop behave in the field.