EU announces center for prosecution of Russia's ‘crime of aggression against Ukraine’

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – The EU on Saturday announced agreement on the formation of a center for prosecution of Russia's “crime of aggression against Ukraine."

“Russia's invasion has brought unspeakable suffering to Ukraine ... [it] must be held accountable for these horrific crimes,” Ursula Von Der Leyen, president of the European Commission said in a statement, referring to Russia's war on Ukraine it launched on Feb. 24 last year.

Claiming that Russian forces in Ukraine have committed atrocities against Ukrainian civilians and energy and other infrastructure, the EU commission chief said every effort should be put forward to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Reiterating that the EU supports the role of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in this context, Leyen said: “We also believe that there needs to be a dedicated tribunal to prosecute Russia's crime of aggression.”

She added that an agreement will be signed to set up the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression in The Hague during the United For Justice Conference that is being held in Ukraine.

“The European Union will continue to work, with our partners, to ensure that Russia pays,” she said.

The new center will be embedded in a joint investigative team created last year by Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine, and supported by the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, or Eurojust.

"I am very pleased that today the #JointInvestigationTeam agreement has been amended. It paves the way for the establishment in the Hague of the international centre for the prosecution of the crime of aggression against #Ukraine," tweeted Didier Reynders, the EU commissioner for justice.

Moscow does not accept the jurisdiction of the ICC, and therefore it cannot exercise its competency in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine.