Hague court issues arrest warrants for Russian commanders of long-range aviation and Black Sea Fleet
Sergei Kobylash and Viktor Sokolov (RBC-Ukraine collage)
The Hague Court today issued arrest warrants for the Commander of the Long-Range Aviation of the Aerospace Force Sergei Kobylash and the Commander of the Black Sea Fleet Viktor Sokolov, according to the International Criminal Court.
"Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court ... issued warrants of arrest for two individuals, Mr. Sergei Ivanovich Kobylash and Mr. Viktor Nikolayevich Sokolov, in the context of the situation in Ukraine for alleged crimes committed from at least 10 October 2022 until at least 9 March 2023," the statement says.
What they are accused of
Sergei Ivanovich Kobylash, who at the relevant time was the Commander of the Long-Range Aviation of the Aerospace Force, and Viktor Nikolayevich Sokolov, who at the relevant time was the Commander of the Black Sea Fleet, are responsible for war crimes.
They involve the war crime of directing attacks at civilian objects and the war crime of causing excessive incidental harm to civilians or damage to civilian objects, as well as the crime against humanity of inhumane acts under the Rome Statute.
"There are reasonable grounds to believe they bear individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes for having committed the acts jointly and/or through others, ordering the commission of the crimes, and/or for their failure to exercise proper control over the forces under their command," the court said in a statement.
Russian military involved in missile strikes on Ukraine
Two arrest warrants were issued based on requests filed by the prosecution. Pre-Trial Chamber II found reasonable grounds to believe that two suspects were responsible for missile strikes carried out by their subordinates on Ukrainian power grid infrastructure during the period from at least October 10, 2022, to March 9, 2023.
During this period, there was a likely campaign of strikes on numerous power plants and substations, which were carried out by Russian armed forces in several locations in Ukraine.
Pre-Trial Chamber II found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the alleged strikes were directed against civilian objects, and for those installations that may have qualified as military objectives at the relevant time, the expected incidental civilian harm and damage would have been clearly excessive to the anticipated military advantage.
"There are reasonable grounds to believe that the suspects also bear responsibility for the crime against humanity of ‘other inhumane acts […] intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health'," the ICC added.
Shelling of Ukraine's energy infrastructure
Between October 2022 and March 2023, Russian occupiers massively shelled Ukraine's energy system. Invaders attempted to cause a blackout.
As a result of numerous Russian attacks, some energy facilities in Ukraine were severely damaged, leading to power outages in the fall and winter. Citizens were urged to conserve electricity and not overload the system.
By the end of February 2024, Ukrainian Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko stated that the Russian military changed tactics on the shelling of Ukraine's energy system. Now they are attempting to impact the country's economy by affecting energy supply in certain regions.
Last May, the Security Service of Ukraine announced suspicion against Admiral Sokolov for involvement in missile strikes on energy facilities in Ukraine.
Already in the fall, the SSU announced suspicion against General Kobylash for a missile strike on a multi-story building in Uman, Cherkasy region.
