The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for the commander of Russia’s strategic aviation, Lieutenant General Sergey Kobylash, and the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Viktor Sokolov.
The ICC statement noted that the two are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the context of the conflict in Ukraine.
The charges against them refer specifically to attacks against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, the Associated Press reports.
The court said the judges, who considered the evidence presented by prosecutors, concluded that there were “reasonable grounds to believe” that the two senior military officers were responsible “for the missile strikes carried out by the forces under their command against the Ukrainian energy infrastructure” from 10 October 2022 until at least 9 March 2023.
“A campaign of strikes against a number of power plants and substations was allegedly launched in the specified time period, which were carried out by the Russian armed forces at multiple locations in Ukraine,” the ICC added.
This is only the second case when the Court publicly announces the issuance of an arrest warrant in connection with Russia’s war in Ukraine, notes AP, quoted by BTA.
The previous one was from March last year against Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, in which he was accused of being personally responsible for the kidnapping of Ukrainian children.
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