The European Union Wants A Form Of A War Crime Court Related To Ukraine, Kremlin: Is Not Legitizing

The impact of the Russian attack on Kyiv. (Wikimedia Commons/State Emergency Service of Ukraine)

JAKARTA - The Kremlin condemns the EU's call to hold a war crimes court against Russia's actions in Ukraine, saying any agency is invalid and unacceptable to Moscow.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday the European Union would try to form a special court, backed by the United Nations, to investigate and try possible war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.

"As for efforts to establish a kind of court: they will have no legitimacy, will not be accepted by us and we will condemn them," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press conference with reporters on Thursday.

The West and Ukraine have accused Russia of various charges of war crimes during the nine-month war, including in the Russian troop-occupied city of Bucha for a month after the February 24 invasion and abandoned in late March, following a failed attack on Ukraine.

"We are ready to start working with the international community, to get the widest possible international support for this particular court," von der Leyen said yesterday.

Kyiv himself has pushed for the formation of a special court to try Russia's military and political leaders who are considered responsible for the war.

Separately, the International Criminal Court (ICC) based in The Hague, the Netherlands launched its own investigation into alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes, days after Moscow's invasion on February 24, but has no jurisdiction to demand aggression in Ukraine.

"While continuing to support the International Criminal Court, we propose to form a special court, supported by the United Nations, to investigate and prosecute Russia's crimes of aggression," von der Leyen said.

Russia denies targeting civilians or has committed other war crimes, accusing Ukrainian forces of violating international law and the Geneva Convention, during doing what Moscow calls a "special military operation".