18:53 / 05.02.2025

The European Union has approved a project to establish a tribunal for Putin

^{Photo: RIA Novosti}
The Council of Europe has agreed on the legal basis for the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, the BBC reports. If the tribunal is established, it will be independent of the International Criminal Court.

The crime of aggression is a separate category of international crimes that consists of waging war against another state. Unlike war crimes and crimes against humanity, for which both ordinary participants in the conflict and commanders of both sides can be held accountable, responsibility for the crime of aggression lies solely with the top leadership of the country that made the decision to attack. Thus, if a decision is made to establish the tribunal, its activities will be primarily directed at Vladimir Putin.

The European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaia Kallas, said that she had no doubt that Putin had committed "the crime of aggression" by deciding to attack Ukraine and violating its sovereignty. "He has spoken about it openly," Kallas said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also stressed that Russia's actions were a gross violation of international law: "When Russia decided to cross the Ukrainian border in tanks, violating the UN Charter, it committed one of the most serious crimes - the crime of aggression. Now justice will be done. Justice for Ukraine."

According to a source in European Pravda who participated in the negotiations of the working group on the establishment of the tribunal, the process will be launched on the basis of a bilateral agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe. At the same time, the publication's interlocutor noted that the tribunal is actually directed against Putin.

The working group, which includes representatives of 41 states, has met 13 times so far. The final, 14th meeting is expected to take place in April, and a document on the establishment of the Special Tribunal is expected to be signed at the meeting.

It should be recalled that in March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin. The court suspects the Russian president of war crimes, in particular, the forcible deportation of children from the occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia. Putin “may be held criminally liable for these crimes, directly, jointly with or through other persons, as well as for failing to exercise due control over the civilians and military personnel who committed these acts.”