The International Criminal Court said on Tuesday that it had issued arrest warrants for two high-profile Russian security figures accused of war crimes in Ukraine — Sergei K. Shoigu, a former defense minister, and Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, the country’s highest-ranking military officer.
In a statement, the court said the two men were “allegedly responsible” for directing attacks on civilian objects, causing excessive incidental harm to civilians or damage to civilian objects, and the crime against humanity of inhumane acts. The warrants were issued on Monday.
“There are reasonable grounds to believe that the two suspects bear responsibility for missile strikes carried out by the Russian armed forces against the Ukrainian electric infrastructure” between October 2022 and March 2023, the statement said. “During this time-frame, a large number of strikes against numerous electric power plants and substations were carried out by the Russian armed forces in multiple locations in Ukraine.”
Last year, the court issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir V. Putin and another Russian official, saying they bore individual criminal responsibility for the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In March, it issued arrest warrants for two senior Russian commanders, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Russia has said that it does not recognize the arrest warrants, or the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction, and that it denies war crimes.