Thirty-four European countries, plus Australia, Costa Rica and the European Union as an entity, on Friday agreed to establish a future special tribunal intended to prosecute Russia for crimes committed during its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The move follows an agreement President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed with the Council of Europe last year to set up such a mechanism.
The Council of Europe — a Strasbourg-based human rights and democracy body of 46 member states that is distinct from the EU and the European Council — approved a resolution laying the groundwork for the tribunal. Council Secretary General Alain Berset said the decision brings “justice and hope,” and urged action to secure the tribunal’s functioning and funding. He framed the commitment as responsibility to ensure aggression does not go unanswered and invited more countries to join.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the day as “historic,” comparing the planned court to the Nuremberg trials and saying the initiative would “restore justice from the ruins of war.” He set out three pillars of accountability: the Special Tribunal, a Register of Damages and a Claims Commission, and stressed that accountability “will never be up for compromise.”
The Netherlands has agreed to host the initial phase of the tribunal in The Hague, home to several international legal institutions including the International Criminal Court (ICC). Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said the road to justice is long but that his country would do everything possible to help achieve it.
The planned tribunal differs from the ICC. The Hague-based ICC has already issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian figures tied to specific alleged crimes such as child deportations and attacks on civilians, but the ICC’s mandate and jurisdiction are limited in some respects. The Council of Europe’s special tribunal is designed to address matters the ICC cannot — for example, the overarching decision to launch the invasion and questions of reparations — although critics say enforcing prosecutions or securing cooperation from Russia’s leadership remains highly unlikely.
Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe after its 2022 invasion. Twelve Council member states have not signed up to the tribunal, including EU members Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Malta; Balkan states Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Albania; and Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey.
The agreement came a day after a Russian missile strike on an apartment building in Kyiv that killed 24 people, including three children. President Zelenskyy laid red roses at the site and vowed the attacks would not go unpunished, saying Ukraine is justified in targeting Russian oil and weapons industries and those directly responsible for war crimes. From the meeting in Chisinau, Sybiha said the tribunal is “not an abstract idea,” noting grieving families deserve justice and that the agreement — approved by 37 states on three continents — makes accountability more likely.
The resolution sets political and legal foundations, but questions remain about funding, procedures, jurisdictional reach and how prosecutions would be carried out if Russian authorities refuse cooperation. Supporters say the tribunal fills gaps in existing international law and strengthens prospects for reparations and accountability for the full scope of the aggression.