The International Criminal Court accused two Russian officers of war crimes and issued arrest warrants for the commander of Russian long-range aviation, Sergei Kobylash, and the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Viktor Sokolov.
The tribunal in The Hague accused them of war crimes in connection with the bombing of Ukrainian cities: “There is reason to believe that they bear individual criminal responsibility for causing damage to civilians.” Russian military personnel are suspected of committing crimes in Ukraine from at least October 10, 2022 to March 9, 2023, it says press release ICC.
During this period, forces subordinate to Kobylash and Sokolov carried out massive attacks on Ukrainian cities, destroying civilian infrastructure. In April last year, the Ukrenergo company reported that during that period the Russians fired more than 1,200 missiles and drones at power plants, substations and other energy facilities.
The Hague claims that there are grounds to believe that Kobylash and Sokolov are responsible for the following war crimes:
- deliberately targeting civilian targets;
- causing excessive collateral damage to civilians and damage to civilian objects.
According to the ICC judges, both Russian officers also fall under Article 7 of the Rome Statute on crimes against humanity.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky commented on the ICC decision:
“Any Russian commander who orders attacks on Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure must know that justice will be done.”
The arrest warrants were initially kept secret, but the court found that their release could help prevent further crimes, the report said:
“Pre-Trial Chamber II therefore considers that it is in the interests of justice to authorize the Registry to publicly disclose the existence of warrants, the names of the suspects, the crimes for which the warrants are issued and the penalties.”
Sergei Kobylash has been in charge of Russian long-range aviation since 2016. Previously, he was the Air Force Chief of Aviation (2013–2015). After this unit became part of the Aerospace Forces in 2015, and until 2016, Kobylash held the position of head of the 4th Lipetsk center for combat use and retraining of Aerospace Forces flight personnel. Viktor Sokolov headed the Black Sea Fleet in August 2022. Since 2020, he has headed the Naval Academy. N.G. Kuznetsova.
Statement by #ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC following the issuance of two arrest warrants in the situation in #Ukraine⤵️ pic.twitter.com/iIGkuvNXUY
— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) March 5, 2024
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