The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted three resolutions related to Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine on June 26, said Maria Mezentseva, the head of the Ukrainian delegation.
PACE took into account all Kyiv's amendments to three documents — on legal aspects of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the role of sanctions in countering Russia's war, and countering the eradication of cultural identity during war and peacetime, Mezentseva said.
With this move, PACE supported the creation of a special tribunal for the crime of Russia's aggression, as well as a compensation mechanism and a register of damages, according to Mezentseva.
An international special tribunal to hold Russia accountable for war crimes committed in Ukraine may be created by the end of this year, European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders said in April.
Ukrainian officials have documented thousands of war crimes committed by Russian forces, including deliberate attacks on civilians, attacks on cultural sites or medical institutions, torture, and deportations.
A political declaration, published by the Restoring Justice for Ukraine conference on April 2 and signed by 44 countries, condemns Russian aggression in Ukraine and advocates for the establishment of a special tribunal to investigate and prosecute Russian crimes.
One of the adopted resolutions also recognized Russia's genocidal intent in destroying Ukraine's cultural heritage and identity, said Yevheniia Kravchuk, member of Ukraine's parliament's delegation to PACE.
The document condemns the systematic Russia's policy of "Russification" in the occupied territories of Ukraine which started since its first invasion in 2014, including the denial of the Ukrainian language and history, Kravchuk said.
Russia's full-scale war resulted in damage to 1,987 cultural facilities as of late April, according to Ukraine's Culture Ministry. Some 16.3% of this number – 324 – were destroyed completely.
Danylo Mokryk
(Updated: )
