Chris Powers

36 countries and the European Union have committed to supporting the Special Tribunal, and the Netherlands has carried out preparatory work to host the court in The Hague.

The protections have been renewed yearly since it was first activated for Ukraine in February 2022, and though there is a feeling that a more permanent mechanism is needed, there is also a chance that it may be renewed a sixth time.

Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, expressed "frustration" over the slow pace of the bloc's defense industry production, drawing a stark contrast with Ukraine's growth.

Months later, Russians responsible for acts of genocide against Ukrainian children find themselves added to Western sanctions lists.

The U.K's governing Labour Party suffered losses in the country's May 7 local elections, which are leading to calls for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign, but Ukrainians should not worry about continued support, Europe Minister Stephen Doughty told the Kyiv Independent in an interview in Brussels just after the government announced a fresh package of support. "I have a very clear message of reassurance, which is that the British public remains resolutely behind Ukraine, and as does the main

"The president of Ukraine did not and does not appear within the framework of this pre-trial investigation," said Semen Kryvonos, director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.

Ministers from 58 countries announced a sweep of new pledges to help Ukraine bring back more than 20,000 children who have been abducted by Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion, during a high-level event dedicated to the topic in Brussels on May 11. The event, co-hosted by the EU, Canada, and Ukraine, followed a meeting of EU foreign ministers, in which they agreed to sanction 23 individuals involved in Russia's abduction of children. Canada also sanctioned 23 entities, and the U.K.

Canada is also expected to sign the convention establishing the International Claims Commission during a visit to Brussels on May 11, which would make it the first non-European country to do so.

Kaja Kallas noted that Gerhard Schroeder has worked as "a high-level lobbyist for Russian state-owned companies," and that it is clear why Vladimir Putin "wants him" as the mediator.

Instead of going to court, Russia's oligarchs are relying on a 1989 investment treaty, which Belgium and Luxembourg signed with the Soviet Union.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional comments. The EU is not about to hold its own peace talks with Russia and has no concrete plans to do so, several bloc's leaders and diplomats have confirmed on May 8, following news reports that suggested otherwise. The discussions come as U.S.-mediated peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv remain stalled for more than two months, as Washington is focused on its war with Iran. Frustration among European capitals at the lack of progress

Aside from Ukraine itself, no country has so far ratified the International Claims Commission, the body that will handle compensation requests from the war's victims.

The Special Tribunal plays an important role because no other court has a legal mandate to prosecute the international crime of starting a war of aggression.

Keir Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen met bilaterally during the European Political Community summit in Armenia, where the two agreed that U.K. participation "would be a major step forward in the EU-U.K. defense industrial relationship."

Kartheiser, a Luxembourgish politician, said on Facebook that he and "other MEPs" met with the head of the Russian Duma's International Affairs Committee, Leonid Slutsky, and other Russian politicians in Istanbul.