The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday issued war crimes-related arrest warrants for a top Russian general, Valery Gerasimov, and former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
The court, an intergovernmental organization run from The Hauge in the Netherlands, said in a news release that the two were allegedly involved in multiple war crimes, including causing excessive incidental harm to civilians and directing attacks on civilian objects. They were also charged with crimes against humanity.
The court said in a statement that it “considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the two suspects bear responsibility for missile strikes carried out by the Russian armed forces against the Ukrainian electric infrastructure from at least” October 2022 until November 2023.
“During this time-frame, a large number of strikes against numerous electric power plants and sub-stations were carried out by the Russian armed forces in multiple locations in Ukraine,” the statement continued.
The Kremlin, Mr. Shoigu, and Mr. Gerasimov, who is the chief of general staff for Russia’s armed forces, have not issued comments on the ICC warrants. But Russia’s Security Council said via state-run news outlet TASS that the warrants are baseless and part of the West’s “hybrid war ... against our country.”
The Security Council also said that the ICC does not have jurisdiction in Russia and that the warrants are “a shock,” according to a Russian-to-English translation.
Several officials in Ukraine, where Russia has fought a more than two-year-long war, said they were happy with the development in posts made on social media. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the ICC warrants are “a clear indication that justice for Russian crimes against Ukrainians is inevitable,” according to a post he made on social media platform X.
“It clearly demonstrates that no military rank or cabinet door can shield Russian criminals from accountability,” the Ukrainian leader wrote, adding that the two Russian officials accused of war crimes are involved in the “reckless bombing” of Ukrainian infrastructure used by civilians.
“Every criminal involved in the planning and execution of these strikes must know that justice will be served. And we do hope to see them behind bars,” he wrote.
Earlier this year, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Russian commanders Sergei Kobylash and Viktor Sokolov for alleged missile strikes against Ukrainian electricity infrastructure.
At the time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was not a party to the statute that established the ICC in the early 2000s and that his country wouldn’t recognize the warrants. “We are not parties to the statute ... we do not recognize this,” Mr. Peskov told reporters when asked about the ICC warrants.
Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for Russia’s foreign ministry, said at the time that those arrest warrants aimed only to discredit Russia. The Kremlin has denied any war crimes have occurred in Ukraine, while Russia has said that Ukraine has committed war crimes in the conflict, starting in 2014.
“The latest spurious emissions from this organ do not have any force for us and are legally insignificant,” Ms. Zakharova told reporters.
ICC Controversy
In May, the ICC said that it would consider issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for what the court’s chief prosecutors said were crimes against humanity and war crimes during the separate Gaza conflict. Arrest warrants are also being sought for the leaders of the Hamas terrorist group, it said.During a CNN interview, the Israeli prime minister said that the ICC’s warrant application is “dangerous” and “endangers all other democracies.” He added, “Israel is first, but you’re next. Britain is next. Others are next.”
