Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy formally approved plans to set up a new international court to prosecute senior Russian officials for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The special tribunal will be created through an agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe, the continent’s top human rights body.
The special tribunal aims to target senior Russian leaders for the “crime of aggression,” which underpins the countless war crimes Ukraine accuses Russian forces of committing since the start of the war in 2022. Existing international courts, including the International Criminal Court in The Hague, lack jurisdiction to prosecute Russian nationals for that specific offense.
Since early in the conflict, Kyiv has been pushing for the creation of a special tribunal that goes beyond prosecuting war crimes that Ukraine alleged Russian forces committed — including bombing civilian infrastructure, killing civilians, rape, taking hostages and torture. Russia denies those claims. There are logistical details still to be resolved, including where the court will be based. The Hague has been suggested due to its existing legal infrastructure, but no final decision has been made.
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