Yesterday, as the EU commemorated Europe Day, EU Foreign Ministers met in Lviv, Ukraine and held a European Council session to approve recognition for Ukraine’s Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. UK’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy was also present and Ukraine was represented by Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal and Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha. The Council of Europe is also backing and supporting the initiative.
The Special Tribunal aims to be complementary to the International Criminal Court and seeks to prosecute individuals who committed war crimes and violated the UN Charter in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova have pending arrest warrants against them by the ICC for abducting thousands of Ukrainian children and deporting them to Russia.
Malta’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Ian Borg, was also presented who participated in a ceremony paying homage to fallen Ukrainian soldiers who fought against Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
EU Vice-Commissioner President and High Representative Kaja Kallas said that the tribunal and its work will be important to ensure that the crimes committed against Ukraine and its civilians won’t happen again in Europe.
Newsroom
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