The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Black Sea Fleet Commander Viktor Sokolov and Russian Long-Range Aviation Commander Sergei Kobylash. This was reported on the official website of the ICC.
The warrants are related to alleged crimes committed between October 10, 2022, and March 9, 2023.
The International Criminal Court said that the accused «are allegedly responsible for the war crime of striking civilian objects and the war crime of causing excessive incidental harm to the civilian population or damage to civilian objects, as well as a crime against humanity in the form of inhumane acts under Article 7(1)(k) of the Rome Statute.»
The orders were issued by Pre-Trial Chamber II of the ICC, composed of judges: Rosario Salvatore Aitala, Tomoko Akane and Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godinez.
«The two arrest warrants were issued on the basis of motions filed by the prosecution. Pre-Trial Chamber II found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the two suspects are responsible for missile strikes carried out by forces under their command against Ukrainian electricity infrastructure between at least October 10, 2022 and at least March 9, 2023. During this period, there was a campaign of attacks on numerous power plants and substations carried out by the Russian armed forces in several locations in Ukraine,» the court said.