The International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of the former Minister of Defense of Russia Sergey Shoigu and the head of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, reported the national portal "Adyrna" referring to the BBC.
An arrest warrant was issued for the two officials for attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure and harming civilians.
The ICC previously issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and Children's Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova, as well as two Russian military commanders.
The press release of the International Criminal Court revealed that the charges against Shoigu and Gerasimov relate to events that took place between October 10, 2022 and March 9, 2023.
This is because the former Defense Minister and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces is alleged to be responsible for the war crime of targeting civilian objects, as well as the war crime of causing excessive harm to civilians.
In addition, they were suspected of "committing crimes against humanity in the form of inhuman acts."
"There are reasonable grounds to believe that the two suspects are responsible for the missile attacks carried out by Russian military forces on the electric power infrastructure of Ukraine between October 10, 2022 and March 9, 2023," the press service of the court said in a statement.
"During this time, many attacks were carried out on power stations and substations of Ukraine," added the statement of the ISS.
On March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Russian President Putin and children's ombudsman Lvova-Belova.
But the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia stated that the decisions of the international court in The Hague have no legal force for Russia.
