EU seeks probe of Russia crimes in Ukraine war
BRUSSELS — The European Union proposed Wednesday to set up a U.N.-backed court to investigate possible war crimes Russia committed in Ukraine, and to use frozen Russian assets to rebuild the war-torn country.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a video message that the EU will work with international partners to get “the broadest international support possible” for the tribunal, while continuing to support the International Criminal Court.
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, his military forces have been accused of abuses ranging from killings in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha to deadly attacks on civilian facilities, including the March 16 bombing of a theater in Mariupol that an Associated Press investigation established likely killed close to 600 people.
Investigations of military crimes committed during the war in Ukraine are under way around Europe, and the Haguebased International Criminal Court has already launched a probe.
But because Russia does not accept the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction, the European Commission said it presented to the 27 EU countries two options to hold the Kremlin accountable: either a “special independent international court based on a multilateral treaty or a specialized court integrated in a national justice system with international judges — a hybrid court.”
Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska on Tuesday also urged that Ukraine’s invaders be held accountable.
“Victory is not the only thing we need. We need justice,” she told lawmakers in London, comparing Russian war crimes to the atrocities Nazi Germany committed in World War II.
She called on Britain to lead efforts to set up a criminal tribunal to prosecute senior Russians, similar to the postwar Nuremberg trials of leading Nazis.
Von der Leyen on Wednesday added that the EU wants to make Russia pay for the destruction it caused in neighboring Ukraine by using Russian assets frozen under sanctions.
She estimated the damage to Ukraine at $617 billion.
“Russia and its oligarchs have to compensate Ukraine for the damage and cover the costs for rebuilding the country,” von der Leyen said. “We have the means to make Russia pay.”
Von der Leyen said $308 billion of the Russian central bank reserves has been immobilized, and that $20 billion of Russian oligarchs’ money has been frozen.
Also Wednesday, Ukrainian officials reported progress in restoring power nationwide, with the energy deficit reduced to 27%.
And in the hard-hit Kherson region that Russia illegally annexed in September and Ukraine since reclaimed, officials reported partial restoration of residential water supplies, albeit at reduced pressure, thanks to electricity being restored to water pumping stations. Power has returned to half of Kherson city’s residents. Russian shelling in Kherson damaged a hospital, an industrial plant, a bank, residential buildings and infrastructure.