Two European tracks converged on 25 June 2024
A look back at the day the ICC issued warrants for Russian commanders and Moldova's EU talks were due to open.
What did 25 June 2024 show about the legal and political pressures surrounding Russia's war on Ukraine? Two separate developments pointed in different directions: one on accountability, one on European integration.
On that date, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in its investigation in Ukraine. The warrants named Valery Gerasimov, Russia's Chief of the General Staff, and Sergei Shoigu, a former defence minister.
The same date had been set for a step in EU enlargement. On 21 June 2024, Moldovan president Maia Sandu signed the decree that began negotiations on Moldova's accession to the European Union. She also announced that the first Moldova–EU intergovernmental conference would take place on 25 June.
Why the two belong together
The events were not formally linked. Both, however, fell within the same fact set: the court's work on Ukraine and the enlargement process that covers Moldova and Ukraine. One concerned individual responsibility for senior military and political figures; the other concerned a neighbouring state formally starting its path towards EU membership.
For readers of Ukraine's public life, the date therefore marks a point where legal action and enlargement diplomacy moved forward on the same day.
