ICC issues arrest warrants for Russian military officials Shoigu and Gerasimov for war crimes

The day before, the Pretrial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court issued warrants for Sergey Shoigu's and Valery Gerasimov's arrest.

ICC reports this on its website.

On June 24, 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for two individuals, Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, in relation to the situation in Ukraine. The Pre-Trial Chamber II, composed of Judge Rosario Salvatore Aitala as Presiding Judge, Judge Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godínez, and Judge Haykel Ben Mahfoudh, issued the warrants for alleged international crimes committed between October 10, 2022 and March 9, 2023.

Shoigu, who was the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation at the time of the alleged conduct, and Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation at the time of the alleged conduct, are responsible for:

• a war crime of directing attacks on civilian objects (Article 8 of the Rome Statute),
• a war crime related to causing excessive accidental harm to the civilian population or damage to civilian objects (Article 8 of the Rome Statute),
• a crime against humanity involving inhumane acts under Article 7 of the Rome Statute.

"There are reasonable grounds to believe that they bear individual criminal responsibility for the crimes above for the commission of acts jointly and/or through other persons, the order to commit crimes, and/or for their failure to exercise proper control over the forces under their command," the documents noted.

The ICC emphasized that two arrest warrants were issued based on statements submitted by the prosecution. The Pre-Trial Chamber II considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the two suspects are responsible for the missile strikes carried out by the armed forces of the Russian Federation on the Ukrainian electricity infrastructure from at least October 10, 2022, to at least March 9, 2023.

During this period, the armed forces of Russia inflicted a large number of strikes on numerous power plants and substations in different places in Ukraine.

The warrants' contents were issued under the seal "secret" to protect witnesses and ensure the safety of the investigation.

"However, given that conduct similar to that referred to in the arrest warrants, which appears to violate international humanitarian law, appears to be ongoing, the Chamber considers that public awareness of these warrants may contribute to the prevention of further crimes provided for by Article 58 of the Rome Statute," the court added.

For reference:

As previously reported by Rubryka, on March 5, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Sergey Kobylash, the commander of the Russian long-range aviation, and Viktor Sokolov, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation. As noted, the corresponding decision was approved within the framework of the investigation of potential war crimes committed by the Russian occupiers on the territory of Ukraine between October 10, 2022, and March 9, 2023.

In addition, on March 17, 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. The order was also issued in the name of Maria Lvivova-Belova, the Commissioner for Children's Rights under the President of Russia.