Russia’s former defence minister and a leading general have been slapped with arrest warrants over attacks on civilian targets amounting to war crimes in Ukraine by a top international court.
Sergei Shoigu, the former Russian defence minister, and General Valery Gerasimov are suspected of having committed war crimes and crimes against humanity for directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects in Ukraine, The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) said.
Judges had found there were “reasonable grounds to believe that the two suspects bear responsibility for missile strikes carried out by the Russian armed forces against the Ukrainian electric infrastructure from at least 10 October 2022 until at least 9 March 2023”, the ICC said.
Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff applauded the ICC’s move, saying it was “an important decision”. Russia, which is not a member of the court, has denied targeting civilians.
This comes as Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov, Moscow’s arms control point person, warned that if the West underestimated the resolve of Russia – a major nuclear power – it could lead to “tragic and fatal” consequences.