For war damages

“Justice is stronger than the Kremlin’s war”

Russian President Vladimir Putin (center) at a reception in the Kremlin(Bild: APA/AFP/POOL/Mikhail Klimentyev)

More than two years after the start of the war in Ukraine, European ministers discussed war crimes in The Hague on Tuesday. 44 governments demanded that the Kremlin pay for war damage in Ukraine and be prosecuted.

"The Russian crimes against Ukraine must not go unpunished", said Austria's Secretary General Nikolaus Marschik, who was present at the meeting. It is possible that an international tribunal will be set up to prosecute war criminals. Ministers, the EU Commission and international judicial authorities were among those present at the meeting.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously urged the international community to prosecute Russian war crimes in a video message. "Justice is stronger than the Kremlin's war", Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is convinced. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin (center) at a reception in the Kremlin(Bild: APA/AFP/POOL/Mikhail Klimentyev)

Volodymyr Selensky(Bild: AP)

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba recalled the massacre of civilians in the town of Butsha, which has become a symbol of Russian atrocities in his country (see video on Butsha above). "The whole world looked evil in the eye in Butsha."

New register for damage reports
The first register for damage reports from Ukrainian war victims was also opened in The Hague on Tuesday. The aim is to compensate victims. Ideally, the opponent of the war should pay for this. According to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, more than 100,000 alleged war crimes in Ukraine have been documented so far, and more than one hundred claims for compensation had been received by the evening. It is possible that the confiscated Russian funds will be used for this purpose.

Shortly after the war began, several governments had already agreed with the Ukrainian and international judicial authorities to cooperate in the investigations. One of the main speakers at the conference was the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan. The World Criminal Court, based in The Hague, has already issued four international arrest warrants for high-ranking Russians and one Russian woman, including President Vladimir Putin.

These heinous crimes must be fully investigated and prosecuted.

Außenminister Alexander Schallenberg über sexuelle Gewalt

100,000 euros from Austria
"Since the beginning of Putin's brutal war of aggression in Ukraine, there have been repeated, shocking reports of war crimes and human rights violations by Russian soldiers, including the systematic use of sexual violence against women and girls. These heinous crimes must be fully investigated and prosecuted," said Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP). Austria is providing 100,000 euros for the further training of the Ukrainian police and public prosecutor's office.