Sergey Kobylash

Sergey Ivanovich Kobylash (; born 1 April 1965) is a Russian military officer who has been the Commander of the Russian Air Force and a Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces since July 2024. Prior to that, he was the commander of Long-Range Aviation from 2016 to 2024 and Director of Aviation of the Air Force from 2013 to 2015. He is a graduate of the Yeysk Military Aviation Institute, the Gagarin Air Force Academy, and the General Staff Academy.

In 2024 a warrant for the arrest of Kobylash was issued by the International Criminal Court for his alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity as part of the Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure (2022–present).

On 22 February 2017, media reported that Kobylash had been promoted to lieutenant general by Vladimir Putin for service rendered during the Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war.

Allegations and indictment On 5 March 2024, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Admiral Viktor Sokolov and Kobylash, as part of its Ukraine investigation, citing his alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity of directing attacks at civilian objects, causing excessive incidental harm to civilians or damage to civilian objects and inhumane acts during the Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure and electrical grid, all under the Rome Statute.

On 10 September 2024 the Ukrainian government accused Kobylash of ordering the attack on the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv on 8 July. Ukraine’s SBU security service said in a statement that “Lieutenant General Sergei Kobylash held the post of long-range aviation commander for the Russian aerospace forces at the time, and after delivering this strike, was promoted and appointed commander of the Russian aerospace forces.”