The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Tuesday (June 25) for former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov, accusing them of crimes during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Shoigu was relieved of his duties as defense minister last month and appointed as the secretary of Russia’s powerful Security Council, marking the most significant change in his military command structure since the outbreak of the conflict in 2022 under Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Hague-based International Court stated that Shoigu and Gerasimov are suspected of commanding attacks on Ukrainian civilians and civilian objects, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.
According to a press release from the International Criminal Court (ICC), judges believe that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that the two suspects hold responsibility for missile attacks on Ukrainian power infrastructure by the Russian armed forces from at least October 10, 2022, to March 9, 2023.”
The ICC judges mentioned that these attacks primarily targeted civilian objectives, “and the anticipated civilian casualties and damages to civilian objects supposedly exceeded the anticipated military objective.” Therefore, these attacks constitute war crimes.
Russia is not a member of the International Criminal Court but has repeatedly claimed that Ukrainian energy infrastructure is its legitimate military target while denying targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure.
During the mentioned period in the latest arrest warrants, Russia is accused of attacking numerous power plants and substations across Ukraine.
With Shoigu and Gerasimov included, the International Criminal Court has issued a total of four arrest warrants against senior Russian officials since the invasion began, including Putin, who is suspected of forcibly displacing Ukrainian children to Russia, thus committing war crimes.
Ukraine is also not a member of the International Criminal Court but has granted the Court jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed on its territory.
The International Criminal Court does not have its own police force and relies on member states to carry out arrests.
Situated in The Hague, Netherlands, the International Criminal Court was established under the Rome Statute treaty and operates independently. While most countries (124) are parties to the treaty, there are notable exceptions such as the United States, Russia, and Ukraine.
Under the Rome Statute, any signatory country is obligated to arrest and surrender anyone facing arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court.