Deputy Head of the President’s Office of Ukraine Andriy Smirnov and Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Anton Korynevych held a meeting with the ambassadors of 30 countries, during which a draft for the creation of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine was presented.

The Special Tribunal should have jurisdiction to investigate and bring to justice for the crime of aggression against Ukraine by the highest political and military leadership of Russia.

At a meeting with the ambassadors, Smirnov, who is the coordinator of the working group on the development of the creation of a special international tribunal, stressed that Russia and its leadership are responsible for the war in Ukraine that began in 2014.

"It’s specifically about the president and other top officials of the Russian Federation, including members of the National Security Council, who authorized military aggression against Ukraine," said the deputy head of the President’s Office.

In the last six months, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies and international partners have registered and are investigating tens of thousands of criminal cases related to Russia's war against Ukraine. Among them are hundreds of criminal proceedings in partner countries, but none for the crime of aggression, the main crime from which the commission of other war crimes and crimes against humanity follows.

However, as Smirnov noted, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, investigating the crimes of the Russian military in Ukraine, can be held accountable for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. But it is quite difficult to establish a legal link between specific crimes and the instructions of the Russian authorities, so it is important to prove the direct guilt of the President of the Russian Federation and other political leaders.

"We have weighed all the existing mechanisms, including UN resolutions, consulted with the most famous international lawyers from around the world and came to the conclusion that in order to bring to justice for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, a special international tribunal should be created, whose mandate will be limited exclusively to the investigation of the crime of aggression against Ukraine," said the deputy head of the President's Office.

He called on international partners to support Ukraine in creating a special international tribunal.

"We want to create it with all countries that are ready to give a legal assessment of the barbaric and brutal military policy of the Russian president and his regime," said Korynevych.

As reported, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed Decree No. 661/2022, which created a working group to develop the creation of a special international tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. The head of the working group is head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak, and the coordinator is his deputy Andriy Smirnov.