The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for top Russian commanders Sergei Kobylash and Viktor Sokolov over alleged war crimes in Ukraine, as stated in a statement on Tuesday. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the arrest warrants. Earlier, a Kyiv official had declared the move as being “extremely symbolic.”
“All wars have rules. Those rules bind all without exception,”ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said, adding that he would continue to seek cooperation from Russia, which has so far refused to engage with the ICC.
This is the second set of warrants for the arrest of Russian officials related to the war in Ukraine.❗️The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Russian long-range aviation commander Sergei Kobylash and Black Sea Fleet commander Viktor Sokolov. pic.twitter.com/X22oNtw11l
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) March 5, 2024
In March last year, the ICC issued warrants for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova on war crimes charges related to the abduction of Ukrainian children.
The ICC stated on Tuesday that the attacks on Ukraine’s electrical grid caused civilian harm and damage that would have been clearly excessive to any expected military advantage.
Ukraine’s prosecutors were already investigating possible war crimes after a winter campaign of air strikes on Ukrainian energy and utilities infrastructure.Situation in #Ukraine: #ICC judges issue arrest warrants against Sergei Ivanovich Kobylash and Viktor Nikolayevich Sokolov. Read more ⤵️
— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) March 5, 2024
https://t.co/fTcNSxPKJ6
The Geneva Conventions and additional protocols shaped by international courts state that parties involved in a military conflict must distinguish between “civilian objects and military objectives,” and that attacks on civilian objects are forbidden.
That seems clear-cut, but some infrastructure owned and used by civilians can also be a military objective if they can make an effective contribution to military action or if their destruction offers a definitive military advantage. Some experts have argued that civilian power plants or railways could fall into this category.
Who are the two Russian commanders?
Kobylash, 58, was the commander of the so-called long-range aviation of the Russian air force at the time of the alleged crimes. Ukrainian military intelligence has said Russian strikes on the densely populated areas in the city of Mariupol were conducted under his command.
Sokolov, 61, was an admiral in the Russian navy who commanded the Black Sea Fleet during the period to which the charges relate, according to the ICC.
Kyiv welcomes the development
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the arrest warrants.
“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,” he said on the social media platform X.
Earlier, Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to President Zelenskyy, had said that the ICC arrest warrants were “extremely symbolic,” and that “...it is obvious that this time Russia will absolutely not be able to avoid responsibility for premeditated and large-scale war crimes.”I welcome the International Criminal Court's decision to issue arrest warrants for Russia's Long-Range Aviation and Black Sea Fleet commanders, who are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Russia's bombing campaign against Ukrainian civilians and…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 5, 2024
