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SBU has opened a case against Russian Chief of the General Staff Gerasimov

03 July 2026 11:59 (UTC +04:00)

A criminal investigation has been opened in Ukraine into alleged war crimes committed by Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, said Security Service of Ukraine and the Attorney General Ruslan Kravchenko, liga.net reports.

According to investigators, the Russian general is directly involved in massive strikes on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, including the airstrike on Kyiv on July 2, which claimed the lives of 30 people.

The SBU noted that in most cases, Russia attacks Ukraine's capital and other cities with "X," "Kinzhal," "Kalibr," "Iskander," and "Zircon" missiles, as well as strike drones.

Under Gerasimov’s orders, Russian armed groups under his command are engaged in planning, preparing, and carrying out air strikes against Ukraine using bombers, missile-carrying ships, and ground-based operational-tactical missile systems.

Russia’s large-scale shelling of civilian targets in Ukraine constitutes a direct violation of Articles 51 and 52 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949.

Kravchenko noted that it was Gerasimov who coordinated the actions of the long-range aviation, the Black Sea Fleet, the Ground Forces, and the unmanned systems units of the aggressor state into a single criminal plan.

Gerasimov is accused of violating the laws and customs of war as set forth in international treaties, as well as of issuing orders to commit such acts.

As part of this criminal investigation, other large-scale missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian territory will also be investigated, the prosecutor general added.