- Ukraine welcomed the move, saying the men ‘will be held responsible for the evil’
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov and former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who was recently dismissed by Vladimir Putin.
Arrest warrants have been issued for the alleged war crimes of targeting civilian objects and causing excessive incidental damage to civilians, as well as for the crime against humanity of “inhuman acts” in Ukraine, the ICC said in a statement.
ICC judges said there were “reasonable grounds to believe that the two suspects bear responsibility for missile attacks carried out by Russian forces on Ukrainian electrical infrastructure from at least October 10, 2022 to at least March 9, 2023.”
The court said these attacks were “directed against civilian objects” and even if targets could be considered military, the civilian damage “would have been clearly excessive in relation to the expected military advantage.”
The court issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin in March last year, a ruling that Moscow called “null and void.” In response, Russia issued its own arrest warrant for the ICC president.
File image shows Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, right, talking to Russian Chief of the General Staff General Valery Gerasimov
Firefighters are extinguishing a fire in energy infrastructure facilities damaged by a Russian missile attack in October 2022
Sergei Shoigu was recently dismissed from his position as Russian Defense Minister by Vladimir Putin
Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff welcomed the ICC’s move to issue the arrest warrants, calling it “an important decision.”
‘Shoigu and Gerasimov bear individual responsibility…’ [They] will be held responsible for the evil,” Andriy Yermak said on Telegram.
The ICC, based in The Hague, does not have its own police force that can execute arrest warrants. For its implementation, the country relies on the legal system of its 124 members.
In theory, anyone under an arrest warrant should not travel to an ICC member state for fear of arrest.
Putin has traveled abroad, most notably to Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – not ICC members.
However, he skipped a meeting of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) in South Africa where the order was expected to be implemented.
It comes after Shoigu was ousted in the most significant reshuffle of Russia’s military command since the massive invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov and former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (pictured with Vladimir Putin)
The move seemed a stunning criticism of Shoigu, a close ally and friend of Putin and Russia’s longest-serving minister.
Putin replaced him with little-known civilian economist Andrei Belousov, described by commentators as a “puppet.”
His appointment is seen by many as a signal that Putin wants to play a greater personal role in war tactics.
Russia renewed a campaign of airstrikes on Ukrainian energy facilities in March, which Kiev said knocked out half its power generation capacity and forced Ukraine into rolling blackouts in the capital and across the country.
Russia says its energy infrastructure is a legitimate military target and denies it is targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure.
The attacks have raised concerns about the resilience of Ukraine’s ailing power system in the cold winter months, following a series of harsh winters in the war-torn country.
The Kiev School of Economics estimates that Ukraine’s energy sector has suffered $16.1 billion in direct losses since the Russian invasion of February 2022.