Russia: The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov for alleged international crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The two are accused of two war crimes, according to the court, which are targeting civilian targets and intentionally causing significant incidental harm or damage to civilian property. They are charged with crimes against humanity as well.
On the same day, Kyiv won its first interstate hearing against Moscow over the peninsula, which could lead to additional cases of this kind. Europe’s top court found Russia guilty of systematic human rights breaches in occupied Crimea perpetrated since February 2014.
The Security Council of Russia, a government group led by Shoigu, was quoted by the Russian state news agency TASS after the International Criminal Court’s pronouncement, referring to the court’s ruling as “null and void.”
The body was reported by TASS as stating, “It is meaningless, as the ICC’s jurisdiction does not extend to Russia, and [the decision] was made within the framework of the West’s hybrid war against our country.”
Officials from Ukraine praised the ICC’s announcement on Tuesday. According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, the ruling demonstrates that “no cabinet door or military rank can shield Russian criminals from accountability.” Dmytro Lubinets, the nation’s human rights ombudsman, stated that Ukraine was one step closer to receiving justice as a result of the ICC ruling.
Shoigu and Gerasimov are now on the ICC’s wanted list as a result of the arrest warrants, however, it’s unclear if they will ever go to trial. Trials are not held in absentia by the court, and Moscow is not likely to turn them up.
The ICC has previously issued arrest warrants for Russian official Maria Lvova-Belova and President Vladimir Putin for an alleged conspiracy to deport Ukrainian children to Russia. With the issuance of these two warrants, the total number of top Russian officials wanted for war crimes has increased to four.
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