Ukrainian and European ministers reveal details of tribunal for Putin and Lavrov

The tribunal concerning the crime of aggression against Ukraine is an essential element of justice, and the Russian leadership must not remain unpunished.

Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, stressed at a joint press conference in Lviv that the crime of aggression carries particular weight, even in comparison to the war crimes committed by Russian troops.

She stated that if there had been no aggression and no such crime, there would have been no war crimes committed in Ukraine. Kallas also emphasised that aggression is a leadership crime, which entails the responsibility of a country's top officials.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, for his part, expressed confidence that the newly established tribunal must sentence Russian highest-ranking leaders. 

"The president of Russia, the prime minister, the minister of foreign affairs of Russia – all of them are international criminals, and the tribunal will in the future deliver the relevant verdicts [concerning these Russian leaders – ed.]," he said. [N.B. European Pravda doesn't recognise Putin as president – ed.]

Sybiha stated that there is a legal possibility to achieve these verdicts. "The operational framework of the tribunal that has been developed is acceptable to Ukraine," he stated.

Kallas also noted that it is possible to deliver verdicts even before the arrest of top Russian officials. She said that they could be sentenced in absentia, but noted that there are limitations as long as they remained in office.

"The tribunal will be located in The Hague, the capital of international law and accountability," Sybiha added.

As previously reported, Kaja Kallas hopes for the first decisions of the tribunal to be issued as early as 2026.

European diplomats meeting in Lviv made a joint statement on the Special Tribunal regarding Russian aggression.