Because of the Ukraine war

ICC arrest warrant also issued against Shoigu and army chief

Just over a year after issuing arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and child protection officer Maria Lvova-Belova for alleged war crimes, the International Criminal Court has now also placed army chief Valery Gerasimov and former defense minister Sergei Shoigu on its wanted list.

As the court in The Hague announced on Tuesday, the charges relate to alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war in Ukraine. Specifically, the two defendants are accused of deliberate attacks on civilian objects and "inhumane acts" in Ukraine. 

There are indications that they were responsible for targeted bombings by the Russian army on Ukraine's electricity grid from October 2022 until at least March 2023. The International Criminal Court itself has no means of executing arrest warrants. However, all states parties to the court are obliged to arrest the wanted persons and hand them over to the court if they are on their territory.

Ukraine rejoices over "important decision"
Ukraine welcomed the arrest warrants as an "important decision". "Shoigu and Gerasimov bear individual responsibility. Everyone will be held accountable for evil," wrote the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, in the online service Telegram. President Volodymyr Zelensky explained that the ICC's decision "makes it clear that judicial action against Ukrainians for Russian crimes is unavoidable". He was "impatiently waiting for further arrest warrants to deprive Russia of the feeling of impunity", which "has fueled Russian crimes for decades". Moscow played down the ICC's decision and spoke of "insignificant" events.

Russia condemned for human rights violations in Crimea
Also on Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights came to the conclusion that systematic human rights violations were taking place on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. However, the ruling against Russia was not about the annexation itself, but about the subsequent behavior of the occupying forces.

It upheld a complaint by Ukraine, which had reported unlawful arrests, ill-treatment, the suppression of Ukrainian media and the Ukrainian language in schools, among other things. In addition, the Russian government had persecuted pro-Ukrainian activists not only in Crimea, but throughout Ukraine and Russia.