The US State Department has commented on the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants for Generals Sergei Kobylash and Viktor Sokolov, the commanders of the Russian Long-Range Aviation and Black Sea Fleet.

"So we have seen the news that the ICC has issued arrest warrants for Sergei Kobylash and Viktor Sokolov for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. The United States supports a range of international investigations into Russia's atrocities in Ukraine, including the one conducted by the ICC," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at a briefing.

At the same time, he stressed that the United States does not influence every decision and development in these investigations.

The day before, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants for Russia's Long-Range Aviation and Black Sea Fleet commanders.

On 5 March, the ICC issued arrest warrants for commanders of Russia's Long-Range Aviation and the Black Sea Fleet as part of the investigation into war crimes Russia potentially committed in Ukraine between 10 October 2022 and 9 March 2023.

On 17 March 2023, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the deportation of Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.