During a speech at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on May 4, President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed confidence that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin would be made to face justice for war crimes committed against Ukraine.
In the speech, which was broadcast on Ukrainian national television, Zelensky said that Ukraine needed only "reliable peace, real peace, real freedom, real justice."
"We all want to see another Vladimir here in The Hague – one who deserves to be convicted of criminal acts. This must be done here in the capital of international law. I'm sure it will happen when we win. And we will win," Zelensky added.
The ICC issued arrest warrants on March 17 for Putin as well as Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian official who has allegedly been overseeing the forced deportations of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia.
More than 19,000 children have been abducted to Russia, according to a Ukrainian national database, while thousands of others remain unaccounted for.
At the same time, the European Union has pledged to establish the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression dedicated to Russia's political and military leadership, also in The Hague.
Daria Shulzhenko
(Updated: )
