The Kremlin said that Russia does not recognize the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for two top Russian Commanders over alleged War Crimes in Ukraine.
Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper), The Moscow Kremlin on Wednesday ignored the issuance of International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants for top Russian Commanders by calling it a ‘meaningless provocation’ that has no legal importance for Russia.
The ICC issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two key Commanders Sergei Kobylash and Viktor Sokolov over suspected missile strikes on Ukrainian electricity infrastructure.
“We are not parties to the statute – we do not recognize this,” the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a statement. He added as Russia was not the signatory to the Rome statute, the international treaty that established the International Criminal Court, Moscow does not recognize the arrest warrants. “This is not the first decision. We also know that various closed processes are going on there, which are kept secret, and we treat such decisions accordingly.” He added
Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for Russia’s foreign ministry said that International Criminal Court arrest warrants issued for two of its commanders in Ukraine had no significance for Russia and they aimed only to discredit Russia. Speaking to reports on Wednesday, she said, “The latest spurious emissions from this organ do not have any force for us and are legally insignificant.” In separate news, she said that Moscow had never wanted conflict with NATO, the US, or Ukraine, but that threats made against it would not go unanswered.
Background:
Yesterday, in a statement, the ICC authorized arrest warrants of top Russian commanders over war crimes in Ukraine, saying there were reasonable grounds to believe that the two were responsible for “missile strikes carried out by the forces under their command against the Ukrainian electric infrastructure from at least 10 October 2022 until at least 9 March 2023”.
According to ICC, the two top Russian Commanders, Mr. Kobylash, 58, the commander of long-range aviation for the Russian air force at the time of the alleged crimes, and Mr. Sokolov, 61, an admiral in the Russian navy who commanded the Black Sea Fleet, both during the relevant charge times, are responsible for war crimes against Ukrainian civilians and Infrastructure. Although, both commanders have not commented on the issuance yet.
Although Russia denies the allegations of targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, the ICC noted that the recorded attacks were excessive to any expected military advantage. According to the Geneva Conventions and international court protocols, attacks on civilians are forbidden.
Despite the widespread accusation by the Ukrainian government and the wealth of evidence collected by international investigators, the Russian government has also in the past dismissed all the alleged charges of targeting civilian infrastructures in Ukraine,
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the ICC’s decision. “Every Russian commander who orders strikes against Ukrainian civilians and critical infrastructure must know that justice will be served,” he said on the social media platform X. “Every perpetrator of such crimes must know that they will be held accountable” He added.
The ICC called both individuals responsible for the war crimes of causing excessive incidental harm and damage to civilians and civilian objects. “There are reasonable grounds to believe that the suspects also bear responsibility for the crime against humanity of inhumane acts,” said in a press release. “Exact details of specific incidents and possible victims have been kept secret to protect witnesses and safeguard the ongoing investigations,” the statement added.
Previous High-profile warrants:
Created by a UN treaty in 2002, the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigates and brings to justice those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, intervening when national authorities cannot or will not prosecute. The treaty has been ratified by 123 countries, but Russia – along with China, India, and the US – has refused to join.
This is not the first arrest warrant issued for Russian officials related Ukrainian War. The previous one was issued in March 2023, last year, when the ICC released arrest warrants for President Putin and Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova. The warrants related to the alleged unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia. Moscow refused to recognize the allegations and labeled the warrants as “outrageous”.
