EU calls for special tribunal for Russia war crimes

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Union (EU) Commission, proposed the establishment of a “specialized court” to investigate Russia’s crimes in Ukraine and stated that the EU is ready to work with the international community on this issue. .

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU Commission, posted a video message about the war in Russia and Ukraine from her social media account. Von der Leyen claimed that Russia “caused devastation, death and unspeakable suffering” in Ukraine, saying: “It is estimated that more than 20,000 civilians and more than 100,000 members of the Ukrainian military have been killed so far.”

Von der Leyen stated that “Russia must pay for all the crimes it has committed, including the crime of aggression against a sovereign state”, and made the following assessments:

“While we continue to support international criminal tribunals, we propose to establish a United Nations-backed specialized tribunal to investigate and prosecute Russia’s crime of aggression. We stand ready to work with the international community to gain the widest possible support for this specialized court.”

The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) launched an investigation shortly after the start of the war, but the ICC does not have the necessary judicial powers for crimes in Ukraine. Ukraine wants a special court to be set up to try Russian soldiers and political leaders, whom it has held responsible for starting the war for some time. (AA)