International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for 2 Russian commanders

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - International Criminal Court (ICC) judges on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for two Russian commanders over the war in Ukraine, which recently began its third year.

In a statement, the ICC said that the judges issued arrest warrants for Sergei Ivanovich Kobylash, commander of long-range aviation of the Aerospace Force, and Viktor Nikolayevich Sokolov, commander of the Black Sea Fleet, "in the context of the situation in Ukraine for alleged crimes committed from at least 10 October 2022 until at least 9 March 2023."

Under the Rome Statute, the two military commanders are each allegedly responsible for the war crimes of directing attacks at civilian objects and causing excessive incidental harm to civilians or damage to civilian objects, as well as the crime against humanity of inhumane acts, added the statement.

"There are reasonable grounds to believe they bear individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes" for having committed the acts jointly and/or through others, according to the court.

Mentioning that the two warrants were issued following applications filed by prosecutors, the ICC added that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the two suspects bear responsibility for missile strikes carried out by the forces under their command against the Ukrainian electric infrastructure from at least Oct. 10, 2022 until at least March 9, 2023.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the court's decision, saying that international justice requires time, but it is "unavoidable."

"Every Russian commander who orders strikes against Ukrainian civilians and critical infrastructure must know that justice will be served," he wrote on X.