Explainer: Could Vladimir Putin be prosecuted for war crimes?

American President Joe Biden has called for the Russian leader to face trial, but the process would be difficult and could play out in several ways

The prosecution could argue that Putin and his inner circle committed a war crime by directly ordering an illegal attack or knew crimes were being committed and failed to prevent them. Picture: Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

Joe Biden has called for the prosecution of Vladimir Putin for war crimes after the discovery in Bucha, Ukraine, of mass graves and bodies of bound civilians shot at close range. 

But bringing the Russian president to trial would be far from simple.