The Russian military chief and former defence minister have arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court

On Tuesday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Valery Gerasimov, the head of the Russian general staff, and Sergey Shoygu, the former minister of defence.

In a statement published on its website, the ICC stated that the choice was taken following an examination of claims of transnational crimes that were allegedly perpetrated in Ukraine between but may not be limited to dates October 10, 2022, and March 9, 2023.

The statement claims that Shoygu and Gerasimov ordered strikes on civilian facilities that caused disproportionate incidental damage and that they committed crimes against humanity by doing inhumane acts.

“The two warrants of arrest were issued following applications filed by the Prosecution. Pre-Trial Chamber II considered that 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 from at least 10 October 2022 until at least 9 March 2023,” it said.

The court statement states that the warrants’ contents are secret in order to safeguard the investigations and the witnesses.

“However, mindful that conduct similar to that addressed in the warrants of arrest, which amounts to violations of international humanitarian law, appears to be ongoing, the Chamber considered that public awareness of the warrants may contribute to the prevention of the further commission of crimes” it said.

The ICC ruling, according to the press office for the Russian Security Council, is “null and void” because it is a part of the “hybrid war of the West” against Moscow and the court does not have jurisdiction over the nation.

“The decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court against the Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Sergey Shoygu, is null and void. This is an idle talk since the jurisdiction of the ICC does not apply to Russia, and (the decision) was made as part of the hybrid war of the West against our country,” the press service said in a statement.

On September 13, 2000, Russia signed but did not ratify the Rome Statute, which was drafted with its involvement. President Vladimir Putin issued an order on November 16, 2016, declaring that Russia would not join the International Criminal Court.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, “The ICC has not lived up to the expectations and has failed to become a truly independent body of international justice.”

(Source: AA)