The leader of the European Union suggested on Wednesday that a new court with support from the UN be established to investigate and judge Russian aggression in Ukraine.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought death, devastation, and unspeakable suffering,” wrote Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission. “This is why, while continuing to support the International Criminal Court, we are proposing to set up a specialised court, backed by the United Nations, to investigate and prosecute Russia’s crime of aggression.”
The plan would need to clear many legal obstacles before it could be implemented, The New York Times reported.
Independent investigators have claimed that they have found evidence of possible Russian war crimes, including the alleged killing of civilians, and leaving unmarked graves and torture chambers, NYT reported.
In October, Russia was accused of attacking Ukrainian cities with kamikaze drones, prompting U.S. government officials to accuse Vladimir Putin of war crimes, reported The Dallas Express. Civilians apparently killed execution-style were also found in October in the southern region of Kherson, according to NYT.
Russia has disputed these allegations and accused Ukraine of destroying its own infrastructure as part of a “false flag” operation meant to hurt Moscow’s reputation.
“Russian occupying forces and collaborators did everything possible to make those people who remained in the city suffer as much as possible during these days, weeks and months of waiting,” said Roman Golovyna, an adviser to Kherson’s local administration, following fighting in the city, Metro reported.
Ukraine has also been accused of war crimes, including executing enemy soldiers, since Moscow gave the order to invade at the end of February, according to NYT.
One pair of video clips, for instance, showed how Ukraine took back the village of Makiivka on November 12. The first video, reportedly taken by a Ukrainian soldier, showed a group of Russian soldiers surrendering as they came out of a partially destroyed farm; the men laid face down on the ground. The same group of soldiers can be seen in the second video, which was taken by a drone, lying in a pool of blood. At least eleven men were killed, and it looks like at least two of them were shot in the head, NYT reported.
The Geneva Conventions of 1949 list various legal protocols that must be adhered to during an armed conflict, as well as identifying what are considered war crimes. These include targeting civilians on purpose, torturing or treating people inhumanely, and attacking areas, including schools, hospitals, and religious buildings, that are not part of the military’s goals.
The new court would work with the International Criminal Court, established in 2002, to investigate and prosecute crimes against humanity, such as genocide and war crimes.
It could take years for such a court to yield any convictions. According to NYT, convicting top Russian officials would be difficult because the burden of proof for the most severe crimes is high. Additionally, as NYT reported, Russia would have to consent to the prosecution of the crime of aggression.
