ICC issues new arrest warrant for crimes in Ukraine

This week, International Criminal Court (ICC) judges issued new arrest warrants for former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russian Armed Forces Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov. These warrants are an important step in holding Russia accountable for the enormous suffering caused by its ongoing violations of 1949 International Humanitarian Law. Laws of War harm to Ukrainian civilians.

They also said that no one, regardless of rank, can escape the punishment of the law.

The arrest warrants are related to Russian military attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure that are set to begin in October 2022 and continue throughout the winter. release Lieutenant General Sergei Kobylash and Admiral Viktor Sokolov have arrest warrants for the same series of attacks.

The court found that Shoigu and Gerasimov may have committed the war crime of directly attacking civilian targets and causing disproportionate harm to civilians in cases where the power infrastructure may be used for both civilian and military purposes. The court characterized the attacks as “attacks” with “multiple acts against the civilian population” and said Shoigu and Gerasimov may have “intentionally caused great suffering or serious injury” as part of a widespread or systematic attack against the civilian population, which is a crime against humanity.

Human Rights Watch Record The attacks have killed dozens, injured hundreds, and left millions of civilians without electricity, water, heat and related vital services as winter approaches.

Russian politicians, lawmakers and Russian state media commentators have welcomed the prospect of Ukrainian civilians going through winter without heating and water. One lawmaker said ordinary people should “Rotten and frozen”Another person said that the strike Must be destroyed The viability of the Ukrainian state.

Ukrainian civilians deserve justice for all serious crimes committed by Russian forces, including widely Torture, Enforced disappearance, Extrajudicial executions, Forced transferand unlawful attacks on civilians in Ukrainian cities, including Mariupol.

Combined with the International Criminal Court’s 2023 arrest warrant, Dear President Putin, and his children’s rights commissioner, these new warrants show that the wheels of justice are turning.

ICC member states should continue to support the Court’s efforts to prosecute serious crimes committed during the Russo-Ukrainian war and in all cases before the Court.