In a statement on March 5, the International Criminal Court (ICC) based in The Hague (Netherlands) issued an arrest warrant for Lieutenant General Sergei Ivanovich Kobylash and Admiral Viktor Kinolayevich Sokolov of Russia.
Mr. Sergei Kobylash and Mr. Viktor Sokolov
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According to the ICC, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the two suspects were responsible for missile attacks under their command targeting Ukrainian civilian targets, specifically electrical infrastructure, from at least October 10, 2022 to March 9, 2023.
During that time, Mr. Kobylash was the commander of the long-range aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces while Mr. Sokolov was the commander of the Black Sea Fleet.
The ICC said the attacks on Ukraine’s power grid had caused civilian casualties and damage that exceeded the expected military advantage. Russia did not immediately comment on the arrest warrant but has long denied allegations that it deliberately targeted civilians in Ukraine.
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In January 2023, Mr. Kobylash was first prosecuted in Ukraine for alleged involvement in attacks on civilian infrastructure, according to The New Voice of Ukraine .
In November 2023, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) brought new charges against Mr. Kobylash for ordering an attack on a high-rise building in the central Ukrainian city of Uman in April of the same year that killed 23 people.
This is the second arrest warrant issued by the ICC against Russian officials involved in the conflict in Ukraine. In March 2023, a court in the Netherlands issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on charges related to the conflict, but the Kremlin has denied those allegations.
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