Agreement on the establishment of a special tribunal to punish the crime of aggression of the Russian Federation will be signed on June 25
The future of justice over the Russian aggressor will soon take concrete forms. This was reported by Yevgenia Kravchuk, a member of the permanent delegation of the Verkhovna Rada to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, on her Facebook account. According to her, an important step in ensuring international responsibility for the crime of aggression of Russia against Ukraine will take place this week. According to plans, an extraordinary meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe will be held on Tuesday, at which the head of the organization, Alena Berse, is to receive a mandate to sign a corresponding agreement with Kyiv. This historic event is the first step towards the establishment of a special international tribunal, which should serve as an instrument of justice for those who committed crimes of aggression. According to Kravchuk, the next day — June 26 — the official signing of documents will take place, which can well be called a historic moment. “What once seemed like a dream — justice and punishment of the guilty — will soon become a reality. Ukraine and the European Union will sign an agreement that will pave the way for holding Russia accountable for the crimes committed,” the parliamentarian emphasized. In addition, the first visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Council of Europe is scheduled for June 25, which further emphasizes the importance of this date in the context of international support for Ukraine in the cause of justice. The history of the creation of the tribunal began in late April, when the legal process was officially launched on May 14. Before that, on May 9, during the summit held in Lviv, the idea of establishing such a legal institution was politically approved. The main argument for the creation of the tribunal is the need to establish justice and hold accountable those who are directly or indirectly involved in the aggression against Ukraine. The head of diplomacy of the European Union, Kaia Kallas, expressed optimism about the rapid results of the work of the tribunal, noting that the first decisions are expected as early as 2026. This means that the process of consideration and adoption of sentences will be able to launch the long-awaited justice mechanism in the context of this large-scale crisis. It is important to emphasize that not only the leaders of the Russian Federation are subject to prosecution. It is planned that the tribunal will consider cases against all senior officials and those responsible for crimes of aggression, including military leaders, high-ranking officials and possibly even political leaders who facilitated or directly committed criminal acts. For more information about the process of creating and operating an international tribunal, as well as the political and legal aspects of this initiative, read our special article "Nuremberg for Putin: all about the tribunal for the top of the Russian Federation, which is being created in The Hague". This is an important step towards the long-awaited justice and the future of international justice for Ukraine and the whole world.