International court wants 2 Russian officers arrested for attacks on Ukraine infrastructure
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants Tuesday for two high-ranking Russian military officers on charges linked to attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine that judges said happened “pursuant to a state policy.”
It's only the second time the global court has publicly announced arrest warrants linked to Russia's war in Ukraine. In March 2023, the court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.
On Tuesday, the court announced warrants for Russian Lt. Gen. Sergei Ivanovich Kobylash, who was commander of the LongRange Aviation of the Aerospace Force at the times of the alleged crimes. Also wanted is Russian Navy Adm. Viktor Kinolayevich Sokolov, who was the commander of the Black Sea Fleet.
They are wanted for the war crime of directing attacks at civilian objects, causing excessive incidental harm to civilians or damage to civilian objects, and the crime against humanity of inhumane acts.
“I have repeatedly emphasized that those responsible for actions that impact innocent civilians or protected objects must know that this conduct is bound by a set of rules reflected in international humanitarian law,” ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said in a statement. “All wars have rules. Those rules bind all without exception.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the warrants should serve as a warning to other Russian top brass.
“Every Russian commander who orders strikes against Ukrainian civilians and critical infrastructure must know that justice will be served. Every perpetrator of such crimes must know that they will be held accountable,” Zelenskyy wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin welcomed the warrants, saying they were supported by evidence provided by Ukrainian agencies. He called them “another milestone in ensuring justice for all victims and survivors of this war.”
Kostin also applauded the crime against humanity charge, the first by the ICC in its Ukraine investigation. He said the crimes were “committed on a massive scale” far from the front lines and with no military justification.
The court said that judges who reviewed the evidence presented by prosecutors said that there are “reasonable grounds to believe” that the two men are responsible for “missile strikes carried out by the forces under their command against the Ukrainian electric infrastructure” from Oct. 10, 2022 until at least March 9, 2023.
“During this time frame, there was an alleged campaign of strikes against numerous electric power plants and sub-stations, which were carried out by the Russian armed forces in multiple locations in Ukraine,” the court said.
Russian forces have repeatedly targeted Ukrainian infrastructure since launching its invasion more than two years ago.
The court said the campaign “qualifies as a course of conduct involving the multiple commission of acts against a civilian population, pursuant to a state policy.”