Special Tribunal moves toward real launch, evidence of future verdicts for international crimes – prosecutor general
The decision by 37 member states of the Council of Europe to approve the Enlarged Partial Agreement on the establishment of the Steering Committee of the Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine is evidence that international crimes will lead to verdicts at the level of the top military and political leadership of Russia, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko has said.
On his Telegram channel on Friday, he noted that the full-scale launch of the Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine is drawing closer.
Kravchenko recalled that on May 15, 36 countries and the European Union officially declared their intention to join the Enlarged Partial Agreement on its creation; such statements were made during the annual meeting of the foreign ministers of the Council of Europe in Chisinau.
"This is evidence that Russia’s international crimes against Ukraine, which have specific names and dates, will also have verdicts at the level of the top military and political leadership of Russia," the prosecutor general emphasized.
According to him, practical work began back in 2023, when the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA) began operating at Eurojust in The Hague.
"This was the first real step toward creating the Tribunal. The evidentiary base is already being formed there, coordination between prosecutors is underway, and materials are being prepared for the future Office of the Prosecutor of the Tribunal," the prosecutor general remarked.
The next step, according to Kravchenko, was the legal formalization of the special tribunal: on June 25, 2025, the President of Ukraine and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe signed the Agreement on the establishment of the tribunal, and on July 15, 2025, the Verkhovna Rada ratified it.
"Now – a broad international coalition. The countries that have declared their accession must complete national ratification procedures. After that, the Tribunal will acquire a full international legal basis," the prosecutor general said.
He added: "The Netherlands will host the initial stage of its work – in The Hague, the world capital of international justice."
The prosecutor general specified that further steps regarding the special tribunal’s work involve forming a steering committee, the work of a preparatory team, identifying premises, selecting judges, prosecutors, and staff, approving procedures, and securing funding.
"The tribunal is moving from the plane of a political decision – into the plane of a real launch. It will investigate and judge those who bore personal responsibility for the decision to commit aggression against Ukraine. Positions, immunities, borders are not an obstacle. The consideration of cases in absentia is possible," Kravchenko added.
According to him, the Office of the Prosecutor General, together with law enforcement agencies, is documenting and investigating all international crimes committed by Russia against Ukraine.
"As of today, there are more than 256,000 of them. This is over 44 terabytes of digital evidence and already more than 1,100 suspects. Part of these materials, including evidence related to the planning, preparation, and conducting of the aggressive war against Ukraine, will form the basis of the work of the Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression," he said.
