The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for two Russian military officials for their role in carrying out alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Tuesday's announcement brings to eight the number of arrest warrants issued by the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal against senior Russian leaders since the invasion was launched in Feb. 2022.
The charges against Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff of the Russian Armed Forces, and Sergei Shoigu, former defense minister, are linked to Russia's attacks on Ukraine’s power plants. Shoigu was defense minister until last month, when Putin replaced him with Andrei Belousov.
Based on evidence from the court's prosecutor, a pre-trial chamber found reasonable grounds to believe the two suspects were responsible for “missile strikes carried out by the Russian armed forces against the Ukrainian electric infrastructure” from Oct. 10, 2022, until at least March 9, 2023.
The chamber also found reasonable grounds to believe the missile strikes were directed against civilians, violating international humanitarian law, and carried out under a government policy.
'No one ... can escape justice'
Justices said the suspects are charged with inhumane acts because there is evidence they “intentionally caused great suffering or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health” of civilians in Ukraine.
Neither Shoigu nor Gerasimov face any real risk of being detained since Russia doesn't submit to ICC's jurisdiction or hand over suspects.
Human rights advocates praised the action, however, with Amnesty International calling it "another crucial step towards justice."
"Today’s new arrest warrants issued by International Criminal Court judges against Russia's top military command signal that no one, no matter how high their rank, can escape justice for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine," Human Rights Watch said.
Last year, the ICC issued indictments against President Vladimir Putin and his commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, for removing Ukrainian children to Russia.
Despite having jurisdiction in 124 member nations that joined the court's enabling Rome Statute, the court has no real powers of enforcement and can only arrest those it charges if they visit any of the member nations.
