The International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants for two Russian military leaders, whom the court’s top prosecutor alleges may be responsible for war crimes in Ukraine.
Former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov allegedly bear criminal responsibility for directing attacks against civilian objects, causing excessive incidental harm to civilians or damage to civilian objects, and the crime against humanity of inhumane acts.
The two are allegedly responsible for Russian forces’ attacks on Ukraine’s key infrastructure from October 2022 through March 2023.
The ICC announced its applications for warrants on Tuesday.
Russian officials have not yet responded publicly, though Ukrainian leaders have praised the court.
“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,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. “This decision is a clear indication that justice for Russian crimes against Ukrainians is inevitable. It clearly demonstrates that no military rank or cabinet door can shield Russian criminals from accountability.”
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan’s office found evidence that “these strikes were directed against civilian objects, and for those installations that may have qualified as military objectives at the relevant time, the expected incidental civilian harm and damage would have been clearly excessive to the anticipated military advantage.”
In March, the ICC announced its pursuit of warrants for Russian commanders Sergei Kobylash and Viktor Sokolov, whom the court accused of similar war crimes.
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A year earlier, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the commissioner for children’s rights in the office of the president of the Russian Federation, whom they alleged were responsible for the forced deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia.
The court cannot try defendants in absentia and relies on its members to make arrests. So, these officials are unlikely to be tried but their ability to travel abroad could be limited.