Ukraine war: International Criminal Court demands arrest of Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant against former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov.

The ICC judges said the two men were suspected of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war in Ukraine.

The court said there were reasons to believe that Mr Shoigu and Mr Gerasimov were individually criminally responsible for attacks on civilian targets between October 2022 and March 2023.

“There are reasonable grounds to believe that the two suspects are responsible for missile attacks … on Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure,” the ICC indictment states.

The court said the harm to civilians caused by the alleged attacks was “clearly disproportionate” to any military advantages Russia might have gained as a result.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the ICC’s decision was “a clear sign that justice for Russia’s crimes against Ukrainians is inevitable.”

“Every criminal involved in planning and carrying out these attacks needs to know that justice will be done. And we hope to see them behind bars soon.”

The Russian Security Council said the ICC’s arrest warrant against Mr Shoigu was “insignificant” and part of a hybrid war against Moscow.

Shoigu, a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was removed as defense minister last month, a post he had held since 2012. He is now secretary of the Security Council.

The court found him responsible for war crimes and focused its charges on the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia. It also issued an arrest warrant for Putin-appointed children’s rights envoy Maria Lvova-Belova.

This step did not achieve much more, because the ICC has no power to arrest suspects and can only exercise its jurisdiction in its member states – and Russia is not one of these states.

However, the ruling could limit Putin’s travel options. Since its announcement, the Russian president has avoided visiting countries that are signatories to the ICC.

Ukraine is also not a member of the ICC, but since November 2013 it has recognised the Court’s jurisdiction over crimes allegedly committed on its territory.