As the head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced, he welcomes the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants for the former head of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, Sergei Shoigu and the chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov for shelling the energy infrastructure of Ukraine.
Points of attention
- Zelenskyy is counting on new ICC warrants against other war criminals from Russia as part of the investigation.
- The ICC decision is considered an essential step in establishing responsibility for crimes against civilians in Ukraine.
- The arrest warrants are proof that Putin and his accomplices can no longer escape punishment for their actions.
Zelenskyy is satisfied with the new ICC decision
The President noted that henchmen of the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin are accused of committing terrible crimes against civilians in Ukraine "during Russia's reckless bombing of critical civilian infrastructure in Ukraine."
According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, absolutely every criminal involved in the planning and execution of these strikes must know that justice will be served
We hope to see them behind bars, he added.
According to the Ukrainian leader, the long-awaited decision of the International Court of Justice is proof that Putin and his henchmen will not be able to escape responsibility for what they have done.
We look forward to new and further arrest warrants to end Russia's sense of impunity. A feeling that fueled Russian crimes for decades. Accountability is the only way to end them.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
President of Ukraine
What is known about the ICC warrants for the arrest of Shoigu and Gerasimov
The Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court announced its final decision on Russian war criminals on June 25.
As mentioned earlier, it issued arrest warrants for former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov for shelling Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
It is also worth noting that the ICC recently issued arrest warrants for the long-range aviation commanders of the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation as part of the investigation into the shelling of Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
We are talking about the long-range aviation commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces Sergei Kobylash and the commander of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation Viktor Sokolov.
