Šojgu and Gerasimov are waiting in The Hague, as is Putin. What does this mean for Ukraine?

 

It's quite difficult to imagine this scenario at the moment.

 

However, even the warrants themselves are of practical importance – for both Russia and Ukraine, says Sergey Petukhov, lecturer at the National University "Kyiv-Mohyla Academy," and former Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine from 2015 to 2019.

 

How are potential war criminals judged? How does the issuance of a warrant affect them? How can Ukraine use this in the fight against the aggressor? The lawyer explains for Radio Donbas Reality.

 

What does the issuance of warrants for Shoigu and Gerasimov mean?

 

"This is big news. This is obviously a victory for international justice and Ukraine. This is another confirmation that Russia is committing mass and systematic war crimes and, most importantly, crimes against humanity on the territory of Ukraine.

 

And if the arrest warrant issued against Putin and Lvova-Belova related to the crime of deporting Ukrainian children, then in this case, the Office of the Prosecutor has provided evidence of crimes against Ukraine's energy system. Given its systematic nature, this constitutes another separate crime, which had not previously been on the warrants - a crime against humanity.

 

Why is this important? Because without such a decision, we could be talking about alleged crimes, crimes that may have been committed. Russia always

dismisses these as Ukrainian propaganda, but in the case of the International Criminal Court, they cannot simply do so. This is an additional decision confirming the criminal act. These are two more individuals for whom arrest warrants have been publicly issued, and therefore they cannot travel through the territories of the 124 countries that are signatories to the ICC Statute (Rome Statute - ed.).

 

How will Putin and others be tried in The Hague?

 

"We already have examples where heads of state have been arrested and handed over to the International Criminal Court. In this case, Putin, Lvova-Belova, Gerasimov, and Shoigu will be in prison in the Netherlands, in their national system - based on an agreement with the International Criminal Court. They will be assigned a lawyer, they will be in The Hague, at the International Criminal Court, their case will be heard, evidence will be assessed, testimonies will be heard, all evidence will be evaluated on the spot, and a judgment will be rendered.

 

It is necessary to understand that, on the one hand, it takes a lot of time, and on the other hand, it is truly an objective process. Although most suspects are convicted, there have been cases where senior officials have been acquitted.

 

Therefore, in that regard, the ICC does not differ much from a regular criminal proceeding - except that this court can try presidents, defense ministers, interior ministers, foreign ministers, and of course, the attention focused on what happens in The Hague."

 

What does the issuance of warrants change - already now, before the court?

 

"The symbolism of such decisions (also on June 25, the European Court of Human Rights made a final decision on Ukraine's lawsuit against the Russian Federation regarding Crimea and determined numerous human rights violations by the Russian Federation on the occupied peninsula - editor's note) cannot be understated. But they also have very specific, practical consequences for us... They now assist us in our political battles in international organizations, primarily, of course, I'm referring to the United Nations and OSCE.

 

Secondly, they underscore the need for accountability for these actions. Don't forget that we're somehow moving towards peace talks. We want these peace talks to be on our terms. On the other hand, both Russia and partly China are trying to offer an option of 'let's forget everything, leave everything as it is,' when in fact there were mass crimes committed.

 

And there's a danger that some of our allies might accept these arguments due to the rise of populists in power. However, now that you have a clear arrest warrant, and when they say what Putin did is a crime, what happened in Crimea is a crime, it's impossible to dismiss and turn a blind eye to it.

 

Such decisions prevent 'dealers' behind Ukraine's back. Because for any leader who respects themselves, a personal encounter with Putin or Shoigu is the end of their political career, as they are officially international criminals."

 

 

It's becoming increasingly difficult and politically unacceptable for a European politician to say that everything is fine and good in Crimea, given these decisions and the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights. These decisions not only hold symbolic value but also have concrete practical political significance now concerning peace negotiations, providing assistance to Ukraine, and imposing further sanctions on Russia and its officials.

 

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants on June 25 for former Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov. The ICC stated it has sufficient grounds to believe that both suspects are responsible for missile strikes by Russian forces on Ukraine's energy infrastructure from at least October 10, 2022, to at least March 9, 2023. The ICC arrest warrants mean that Shoigu and Gerasimov could now be detained and brought to trial in the 124 countries that have ratified the Rome Statute (Ukraine not being one of them).

 

A representative of Russia's Security Council, currently led by Sergei Shoigu, told TASS that the ICC arrest warrant for the former Defense Minister is legally meaningless and "just a whim," arguing that the ICC's jurisdiction does not extend to Russia.

 

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on March 17 last year for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, deputy commissioner for children's rights under the Russian president. This decision was made regarding alleged responsibility for war crimes - the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.

 

Earlier, on March 5 of this year, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the commander of long-range aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces, Sergei Kobylash, and the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Viktor Sokolov (who was dismissed in February), for missile strikes by forces under their command on Ukraine's energy infrastructure from at least October 10, 2022, to March 9, 2023.

 

The International Criminal Court is an intergovernmental body of criminal justice with jurisdiction over prosecuting those responsible for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes of aggression. The ICC is headquartered in The Hague and employs over 900 people from around 100 countries worldwide.