Top Russian commanders Sergei Kobylash and Viktor Sokolov are the subject of arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, the court announced in a statement on Tuesday.
The Hague-based ICC stated that there were good reasons to think the two accused were behind “missile strikes against the Ukrainian electric infrastructure carried out by the forces under their command from at least 10 October 2022 until at least 9 March 2023.”
This is the second set of warrants pertaining to the conflict in Ukraine that call for the arrest of Russian officials. President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova were both wanted by the ICC in March of last year on war crimes allegations pertaining to the kidnapping of children belonging to Ukraine. The claims are denied by the Kremlin.
At the time of the alleged crimes, Kobylash,58, was the Russian air force’s commander of what was known as long-range aviation. According to the ICC, Sokolov, 61, was an admiral in the Russian navy who oversaw the Black Sea Fleet throughout the time frame of the accusations.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, applauded the ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants for the two Russian generals.
According to the ICC on Tuesday, the attacks on Ukraine’s electrical grid resulted in damage and injury to civilians that was obviously greater than any anticipated military benefit.
