ICC issues arrest warrants for alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine

• The ICC has issued other arrest warrants against Russian officials for their roles in the war in Ukraine, but Tuesday's warrants are significant because they incriminate such high-ranking officials.

Driving the news: The ICC arrest warrants allege that Shoigu and Gerasimov have committed two offenses: "directing attacks at civilian objects" and "causing excessive incidental harm to civilians or damage to civilian objects," per a press release from the court.

• These alleged crimes are connected to Russian strikes against Ukrainian electric infrastructure from October 2022 and March 2023.
• The two men are also accused of crimes against humanity.
• "There are reasonable grounds to believe that the suspects intentionally caused great suffering or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health, thus bearing criminal responsibility for the crime against humanity of other inhumane acts," the ICC said.

The big picture: Shoigu was longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and had served as defense minister since 2012. He was replaced by Andrei Belousov earlier this year in one of Russia's biggest shakeups since the start of the war.

• Gerasimov took over as the commander of Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year, replacing General Sergei Surovikin.

Flashback: The ICC made waves last year when it issued arrest warrants for Putin and Russia's commissioner for children's rights over the alleged abduction of Ukrainian children and teenagers.

Go deeper: What counts as a war crime and why they're so hard to prosecute