ICC issues arrest warrants for high-ranking Russian generals accused of war crimes in Ukraine
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for former Russian Defence Minister General Sergei Shoygu and Chief of the Russian General Staff General Valeriy Gerasimov, according to the press release of the court.
The ICC states that Shoygu and Gerasimov are suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed between October 2022 and March 9, 2023. Specifically, the charges include:
- Deliberate attacks on civilian objects in Ukraine, including the country’s power stations.
- Inflicting excessive incidental harm to civilian populations and damage to civilian objects.
- Intentionally causing suffering, serious bodily and mental harm to people, and other inhumane acts.
"There are reasonable grounds to believe that they bear individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, as well as for failing to exercise proper control over forces under their command," the ICC report states.
Moreover, it notes that the alleged numerous crimes committed by Shoygu and Gerasimov against Ukrainian civilians were carried out in accordance with Russian state policy.
In spring 2023, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, accusing them of the forcible transfer of Ukrainian children from Ukraine to Russia.
In March this year, the court issued arrest warrants for Commander of the Russian Long-Range Aviation General Sergei Kobylash and Commander of the Black Sea Fleet Admiral Viktor Sokolov. These individuals, similarly, to Shoygu and Gerasimov, are accused of deliberate attacks on civilian objects and causing excessive incidental harm to civilian populations.