European Union Forms Russia's Center For Prosecution Of Aggression Crimes Against Ukraine

JAKARTA - The European Union on Saturday announced an agreement on the establishment of a center for prosecution of "crimes of Russian aggression against Ukraine".

"Russian invasion has resulted in unspoken suffering to Ukraine... (Russia) must be held accountable for this horrific crime," EU President Ursula Von Der Leyen said in a statement, referring to the Russian war in Ukraine that was launched on February 24 last year.

The head of the EU commission stated that Russian troops in Ukraine had committed atrocities against Ukrainian civilians, energy and other infrastructure, so that any attempt had to be made to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Leyen reiterated that in this case, the European Union supports the role of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

"We also believe that there needs to be a special court to try the crimes of Russian aggression," he continued, citing Antara.

He added that the agreement would be signed to establish an International Center for Prosecution of War Crimes in The Hague during the United Conference on Justice which is being held in Ukraine.

"Europe will continue to work with our partners to ensure Russia pays for it," he said.

The new center will be part of a joint investigative team formed last year by Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine, and supported by the European Union Criminal Cooperation Agency, or Eurojust.

"I am very happy that today the #JointInvestigationTeam agreement has been amended. This paved the way for the establishment of an international center for prosecution of crimes against #Ukraine in The Hague," Didier Reynders, EU commissioner for justice, tweeted on social media.

Moscow does not accept the ICC jurisdiction, and therefore the agency cannot carry out its competence in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine.