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Ukraine and Council of Europe to Sign Agreement on Special Tribunal for Russian Aggression

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Liubava Petriv
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Ukraine and Council of Europe to Sign Agreement on Special Tribunal for Russian Aggression
Women with posters depicting Putin as a murderer participate in the demonstration in Piazza della Repubblica against the war in Ukraine organised by the Ukrainian community in Rome, on February 27, 2022 in Rome, Italy. (Source: Getty Images)

Ukraine and the Council of Europe are set to sign an agreement on June 25 to establish a special tribunal focused on the crime of aggression related to Russia’s full-scale invasion. The announcement was made by Yevheniya Kravchuk, a member of Ukraine’s delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

The agreement is part of Ukraine’s wider effort to ensure legal accountability for decisions that led to the 2022 invasion.

“What seemed like a dream of justice will soon become a reality,” Kravchuk wrote in a Facebook post. “Ukraine, together with the Council of Europe, will sign an agreement that will bring Russia to justice.”

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna said the tribunal will have a specific mandate to investigate and prosecute senior Russian officials involved in the decision to go to war.

“It is not a matter of debate anymore, only a matter of time,” Stefanishyna told the Kyiv Independent. “Some will get into the hands of justice sooner, some later, but they will all be held accountable. There are no exceptions.”

The planned tribunal will have jurisdiction over acts related to the crime of aggression—including planning and initiating the war—and is designed to focus on high-level leadership. According to Stefanishyna, the legal framework ensures that even officials still in office can face prosecution.

“The tribunal’s design makes it clear that the official status of the accused at the time of the crime does not exempt them from responsibility,” she said. “Functional immunity does not apply here; high-ranking officials can be prosecuted even while holding office. The statute provides rules for conducting proceedings if the accused is absent.”

The tribunal will also be able to work alongside the International Criminal Court to strengthen coordination and information exchange.

While war crimes and crimes against humanity are already being addressed through international and national mechanisms, this tribunal will specifically address leadership responsibility for the war itself— a gap that Ukrainian officials say needs to be filled.

Previously, it was reported that the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning Russia’s forcible deportation and russification of Ukrainian children, calling it a “genocidal strategy” aimed at erasing Ukrainian identity.

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