President's office: 37 countries hold summit on tribunal for Russian crimes

The 37 member states of the Core Group have held an online summit to discuss establishing a tribunal for Russian crimes of aggression committed in Ukraine, the President's Office reported on May 9.

In his speech, President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated that a tribunal is needed because the International Criminal Court (ICC) does not have jurisdiction over Russian crimes of aggression committed in Ukraine.

Drawing parallels with the Nuremberg trials, which took place after World War II, Zelensky highlighted how it originally comprised only four states before expanding to 24.

"We are much more numerous now, and not only European countries are among us. Our joint work proves that striving for justice is global," Zelensky said.

According to Zelensky, the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Russian Aggression will start its work in the Hague by summer, "a practical step in the processing of evidence for a tribunal."

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian official overseeing the forced deportations of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia.

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From the indiscriminate killings of civilians in Bucha, Izium and Mariupol, to the everyday terror of long-range missile strikes, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has shocked the world in its devastation and brutality. Behind the tragic headlines, Ukrainian state institutions are faced with t…

Kyiv IndependentFrancis Farrell