Lithuania asks ICC to probe Russia's strikes on Ukraine’s energy sector as genocide
Photo: Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Kęstutis Budrys (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Lithuania is asking the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as acts of genocide, according to the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry’s website.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said he has appealed to ICC prosecutors to issue new arrest warrants against Russia over the large-scale attacks by Russian forces on critical and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
According to Budrys, Russia’s systematic acts of terror are aimed at leaving the Ukrainian population without electricity, water, and heating in the middle of winter. Such crimes cannot be classified as anything other than an attempt to destroy the Ukrainian people physically and therefore can be equated with acts of genocide.
In his letter to the ICC, Budrys called for new arrest warrants to be issued for Russians responsible for the mass attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities. He also urged the court to expand existing arrest warrants by adding charges related to new international crimes, including genocide.
In March 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on suspicion of the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.
At the same time, arrest warrants were also issued for five other individuals suspected of committing other crimes on Ukrainian territory. The warrants are valid in 123 countries that have ratified the Rome Statute, each of which is obligated to detain Putin.
The ICC has also stated that the international investigation into crimes committed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine cannot be halted by any political circumstances. In other words, negotiations or a peace deal would not stop the prosecution of Putin and his inner circle.
In response, Russia reacted sharply and issued sentences in absentia against ICC judges and the prosecutor who authorized the arrest warrants for Putin and other senior Russian war criminals. However, these actions have no legal significance outside Russia.
