Int’l center opens to build cases against Russian leaders for Ukraine aggression

THE HAGUE — Law enforcement officials from Ukraine, the European Union and the United States on Monday opened an international center to build cases against the Russian leadership for the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian authorities are reviewing more than 93,000 reports of war crimes and have filed charges against 207 suspects in domestic courts.

High-level perpetrators could be tried at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, which has already sought the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But due to a gap in international law, there is no court that can currently prosecute the crime of aggression for the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion itself.

The new International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression (ICPA), also in The Hague, will work alongside the ICC, the world's permanent war crimes court, and bridge that legal gap.

The new center will collect evidence for possible cases against Russian military and political leaders responsible for the war, Ukraine's top prosecutor, Andriy Kostin, said.

"If the crimes of aggression would not have been committed there would be no other 93,000 incidents of war crimes," Kostin told journalists. This day "is evidence that the establishment of a special tribunal is now inevitable."

Supported by the European Union, United States and a Joint Investigation Team for Ukraine, the center will effectively be the forerunner of a special tribunal for aggression, building a case file that could go to court.

The United States will contribute evidence and is seconding a special prosecutor, Jessica Kim, in The Hague. Kim "will have unfettered access to the substantial body of expertise and resources that the Department has amassed in response to Russia's unlawful war of aggression," said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite, referring to the US Department of Justice.

"We are supporting all efforts. ..to ensure accountability and justice against Russia for perpetrating this war of aggression against Ukraine."

The ICC has the jurisdiction to prosecute alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Ukraine, but due to legal constraints it does not cover the crime of aggression—launching an unprovoked attack in the first place.

Putin's government says it annexed parts of east and south Ukraine in a "special military operation" to protect Russian speakers and defend its borders from aggressive Western ambitions.

Kyiv and its Western allies accuse Putin of barbaric tactics and an imperialist-style land grab in Ukraine. Russia denies deliberating attacking civilians or committing war crimes.

Ukraine wants aggression crimes to be heard at a special tribunal, an idea supported by most European Union countries, the United States and Britain, among others. It is still unclear under what legal basis that court would be created.

Kostin said the center was a sign of international support for a special tribunal "and we believe that this center will bring us [the] first results in coming months"

The exact legal framework of the special tribunal is still under discussion, but it is expected to target around two dozen top government and military officials, according to legal experts. — Reuters