Establishment of a special court for crimes of Russia in Ukraine

The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, stated that Ukraine and its European partners, during their meeting in Lviv, approved the establishment of a special tribunal to prosecute the war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine. At the same time, 1 billion euros were approved for Ukraine’s defense industry.

“No one will go unpunished for the crimes they have committed,” Kaja Kallas said from Lviv. “The message is important. Many countries are already participating in the Core Group, but all countries that support the values and principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter should also join us and support this special Tribunal,” she stated in a recorded message posted on “X.”

The agreement to establish a special tribunal for Russia’s crimes was signed by the EU High Representative, Kaja Kallas, and the Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, and the Rule of Law, Michael McGrath. Present were Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, and the country’s Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal, as well as the EU foreign ministers who traveled to Lviv after their informal summit yesterday, Thursday, in Warsaw. Among them were the foreign ministers of France, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, and their British counterpart, David Lammy. Canada also supports the establishment of the special tribunal.

The core group that today approved the Declaration for the establishment of the special tribunal consists of member states of the Council of Europe. The meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in Luxembourg on May 13-14, 2025, will be the next step towards the formalization of the establishment of the Special Tribunal.

The special tribunal for “aggression crimes” will cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has already issued international arrest warrants for several Russian leaders, including Vladimir Putin.

Regarding the release of 1 billion euros for the Ukrainian defense industry, these funds will be financed by interest generated from Russian assets of the Russian Central Bank that have been frozen in the EU.

The West has frozen Russian assets worth approximately 235 billion euros since the start of the war in 2022, the majority of which are located in Europe. A few months ago, the EU decided to use the interest collected from these assets to fund aid to Ukraine. (9/5/25)