Ukraine calls for creation of Special Tribunal to probe 'war crimes' committed by Russia

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has called for the establishment of a Special Tribunal to bring the Russian Federation's highest military and political leaders to trial for alleged crimes committed in Ukraine. According to European Pravda, Kuleba said that this is required in order to bring the Russian Federation's leadership to justice for war crimes committed against Ukraine.

"I will make it extremely clear: Ukraine accuses Russia of committing the crime of aggression. Together with other states, organisations and institutions, we will use all available tools to achieve justice for the thousands of innocent victims of this crime, and we will not rest until the perpetrators are brought to justice," Kuleba was quoted by European Pravda as saying.

Kuleba emphasised that while international criminal justice has adequate means to examine war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, existing institutions face objective legal impediments in examining the act of aggression against Ukraine. That is why it is important to establish a Special Tribunal capable of prosecuting Russia's leadership for this particular crime.

"If there are no appropriate tools that allow us to carry out justice, we will return to the very origins of international criminal justice to create them," the Ukrainian minister emphasised, according to the media agency.

The Director of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs recalled that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the European Parliament, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, and the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania had already endorsed the idea of establishing a Special Tribunal.

It would take several years to fully investigate war crimes committed by Russia

According to several media reports, Marko Buschmann, the minister of justice in Germany, anticipates that it would take several years to fully investigate the war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine. A coordination meeting of the countries involved in the investigation of Russian war crimes in Ukraine was conducted at the end of May in The Hague, amid demands that those responsible for the horrors perpetrated be brought to account.

Kuleba stated, "We will definitely hold Russia accountable for all crimes committed. The earth will literally burn under the feet of the Russians not only at the front, but also in the courts, under the feet of those Russians who are guilty of crimes against Ukrainians."

(Image: AP)