The U.S. supports the International Criminal Court's (ICC) investigation into Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia's Security Council, and Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian army, for war crimes against Ukraine, said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on June 25.
Earlier in the day, Shoigu and Gerasimov were issued arrest warrants by the ICC for their role in conducting Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure between October 2022 and March 2023. Shoigu served as Russia's Defense Minister at the time of the alleged war crimes.
When asked about the U.S. reaction to the arrest warrants, Miller said, "We support a range of international investigations into Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine, including the one conducted by the ICC."
"We have made clear that there have been atrocities committed by Russian forces in their illegal invasion of Ukraine and that there ought to be accountability for those atrocities."
Miller did not clarify if the U.S. was actively supporting the ICC's investigation or sharing any evidence, and did not specifically mention the arrest warrants. Neither the U.S. nor Russia are parties to the ICC.
As a result, the U.S. maintains a complicated relationship with the court.
President Joe Biden said he welcomed the ICC's March 2023 arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights, for the forcible transfer of children from Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.
Biden has also reportedly ordered his administration to hand over evidence to the ICC in order to support investigations into Russian war crimes.
At the same time, the ICC's recent announcement that it was seeking an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes committed in Gaza prompted a swift reaction from Biden and other top U.S. officials.
Biden called Netanyahu's arrest warrant "outrageous" and Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the administration was prepared to work with Congress to potentially sanction ICC officials in response.
Nate Ostiller
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