Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed an agreement with the Council of Europe (CoE) to create a tribunal that would allow for the prosecution of senior Russian officials who have led the war on Ukraine.
Zelensky signed the accord on Wednesday alongside CoE Secretary General Alain Berset in the French city of Strasbourg, where the organization is headquartered.
The Ukrainian leader has portrayed the special tribunal as paramount to holding Russian officials responsible for the full-scale invasion of his country, which began in February 2022 and has grinded on for more than three years, with a huge human cost.
The establishment of the tribunal is aimed at widening the net for those who can be tried over the conflict. The International Criminal Court (ICC), which focuses on crimes against humanity, has already issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and several other high-profile political and military Russian figures.
The new body will deal with the crime of aggression, specifically regarding the use of armed force by one state against another. It marks the first time that the CoE has set up such a tribunal.
“The Tribunal, formally launched today, creates a real opportunity to hold the leadership of the Russian regime accountable for the crimes committed against our state and our people,” the Ukrainian president wrote on X.
“We will continue working to ensure justice for all victims. Criminals must face trial in The Hague and be punished.”
Berset said: “This historic signature reminds us that international law must apply to all – with no exceptions, and with no double standards.”
Alongside Putin, the ICC, based in The Hague, issued an arrest warrant for Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s presidential commissioner for children’s rights, in March 2023. Both are accused of the illegal deportation and transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.
In March 2024, the court also issued arrest warrants for Viktor Sokolov, a Russian navy officer and former commander of the Black Sea Fleet, and Sergei Kobylash, a lLieutenant general in the Russian Armed Forces. The two are accused of the war crime of causing excessive incidental harm to civilians and the crime against humanity of inhumane acts.
Meanwhile, ceasefire negotiations to end the war in Ukraine have mostly stalled despite mediation from the Trump administration.
The talks between Russia, Ukraine and third countries have struggled to make progress after Moscow refused to back off its maximalist demands and presented a ceasefire proposal that would essentially amount to Ukraine’s capitulation.
At the same time, Russia keeps ramping up its attacks against Ukrainian cities. Russian forces killed dozens of Ukrainian civilians in less than 48 hours on Monday and Tuesday, according to Ukrainian officials, two of the deadliest days in many months.
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