The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for former Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu and the chief of the Russian military’s general staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov.
The ICC said Tuesday there are “reasonable grounds to believe that the two suspects bear responsibility for missile strikes carried out by the Russian armed forces against the Ukrainian electric infrastructure” between October 2022 and March 2023.
The court cited Russian strikes that hit Ukrainian power plants and substations.
An ICC statement said Shoigu and Gerasimov are alleged to be responsible for directing attacks at civilian targets and causing excessive harm to civilians, both of which are war crimes.
"Shoigu, Gerasimov, your path to The Hague is open," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy taunted the two men in his nightly address Tuesday. The ICC is located in The Hague in the Netherlands.
Russian President Vladimir Putin replaced Shoigu as defense chief in May as part of a cabinet shakeup as Putin began a new presidential term.
On Monday, Russian officials said Ukraine used 30 drones in overnight attacks on two areas near the border between the two countries.
Russia’s defense ministry said it shot down 29 drones over the Belgorod region and one more over Voronezh.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the regional governor of Belgorod, said falling debris from downed drones injured several people and damaged buildings.
Belgorod is a frequent target for Ukrainian aerial attacks with its location just across the border and proximity to Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, where Russian forces have gained ground in an offensive in recent months.
In Voronezh, Governor Aleksandr Gusev reported a fire at an industrial site caused by a downed drone. Gusev said there were no injuries.
Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine went on to exchange 90 prisoners each on Tuesday with mediation from the United Arab Emirates, or UAE.
"Ninety warriors have been brought back from captivity," Zelenskyy said in his address. "They are warriors of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, the Border Guard Service, the Navy. Most of them are privates and sergeants."
The UAE is arbitrating the transportation of Ukrainian children from Russia, while the Russian Defense Ministry announced that their prisoners would be flown into Moscow. Russian prisoners are reported to undergo medical examinations in Moscow.
The Russian Defense Ministry deemed the UAE’s involvement as “humanitarian mediation.”
Zelenskyy also thanked the UAE "for their assistance in making today's event possible."
Ukraine and Russia have undergone hundreds of prisoner swaps since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The last exchange dates to May, when 75 prisoners were exchanged.
Some information for this story came from Reuters.
