International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Russia's Shoigu and Gerasimov

FILE PHOTO: Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov attend a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia February 27, 2022. Sputnik/Aleksey Nikolskyi/Kremlin via REUTERS/File Photo

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Sergei Shoigu, the former Russian defence minister, and leading Russian general Valery Gerasimov on Tuesday for alleged crimes committed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Shoigu was removed from his post of defence minister last month, and appointed Secretary of Russia's powerful Security Council, in the most significant changes Russian President Vladimir Putin made to his military command since the start of the war in 2022.