EU Plans to Set Up Court for Russia’s Crimes in Ukraine

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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed to set up a UN-backed special court to investigate Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. The European Commission (EC) has suggested that a specialized UN-backed court be set up to investigate and prosecute Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. Ursula von der Leyen, Head of the Commission, said this on Wednesday, November 30, in Brussels. According to her, the desire to create a new structure does not mean abandoning interaction with the International Criminal Court (ICC). “We are ready to start working with the international community to achieve the broadest possible international support for this specialized court,” von der Leyen said. “Russia must pay for its terrible crimes, including aggression against a sovereign state,” she added. Russia must pay financially for the damage done The president of the European Commission is convinced that the Russian Federation must also pay financially for the destruction that is being caused. The damage done to Ukraine is estimated at 600 billion euros, she pointed out. Moscow and Russian oligarchs must compensate Ukraine for the damage and cover the costs for rebuilding the country, von der Leyen stressed. The EC head reminded that the EU had blocked 300bn euros of the Russian Central Bank reserves and frozen 19bn euros of assets belonging to Russian oligarchs. “In the short term, we could create, with our partners, a structure to manage these funds and invest them. We would then use the proceeds for Ukraine,” the head of the European Commission added. Once the sanctions against Russia are lifted, these funds should be used as Moscow’s compensation for the damage caused to Ukraine. “We will work on an international agreement with our partners to make this possible. And together, we can find legal ways to get to it. Russia’s horrific crimes will not go unpunished,” von der Leyen stressed. DW