The International Criminal Court (ICC) declared on Tuesday March 5 that it had issued arrest warrants against a lieutenant general of the Russian armed forces and an admiral of the Russian navy for alleged crimes committed in Ukraine.

The ICC “issued arrest warrants against two individuals, Sergei Kobylach and Viktor Sokolov, in the context of the situation in Ukraine for alleged crimes committed between at least October 10, 2022 and at least March 9, 2023,” the ICC said. declared in a press release the court, which sits in The Hague.

Situation in #Ukraine: #ICC judges issue arrest warrants against Sergei Ivanovich Kobylash and Viktor Nikolayevich Sokolov.

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https://t.co/fTcNSxPKJ6

— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) March 5, 2024

“Sergueï Kobylach, born April 1, 1965, lieutenant general of the Russian armed forces, was at the material time commander of the long-range aviation of the aerospace forces,” said the ICC.

“Viktor Sokolov, born April 4, 1962, admiral of the Russian navy, was at the material time commander of the Black Sea Fleet,” added the court.

Both are still in office.

Attacks on civilian objects

The two men are allegedly responsible for directing attacks against civilian objects and causing "excessive accidental damage to civilians or civilian objects", war crimes, the court said.

They are also presumed responsible for “inhumane acts” qualified as crimes against humanity.

“There are reasonable grounds to believe that they bear individual criminal responsibility for the above-mentioned crimes,” the ICC said.

The ICC issued an arrest warrant in the spring of 2023 targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin for his role in the deportation of children to Ukraine.

With AFP

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