Ukraine’s Prosecutor General explains options for creating special tribunal for Russia

Andriy Kostin said this in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.

The Prosecutor General noted that the establishment of a tribunal to bring to justice the top military leadership of the Russian Federation is one of the key points of the system where the aggressor is fully punished for its crimes against Ukraine.

In particular, he said that three options for creating a special tribunal are currently being considered, two of which were proposed by Ukraine: "From our point of view, the best option is to create a special tribunal for the crime of aggression on the basis of a multilateral international treaty, following the example of the Nuremberg Tribunal. This was our idea, and it remains the first option that absolutely suits Ukraine and Ukrainians."

The second option, in turn, envisages a mechanism based on an agreement with the UN with the adoption of a relevant resolution by the organization's General Assembly.

"Some of our partners also offer us a so-called hybrid model of the tribunal based on Ukrainian law with some international elements," Kostin said.

However, he said, in this case, there is a problem: according to Ukrainian law, Russia's top political leadership has personal immunity, including the president, prime minister, and foreign minister.

"That is why we continue the dialogue with our partners to choose the model that will ensure international prosecution and punishment of the highest leadership of the aggressor country," the Prosecutor General summarized.

• On March 4, US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said they were ready to continue the sanctions policy against Russia.

• On Friday, US President Joe Biden, during a meeting at the White House with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, emphasized that Berlin and Washington are " hand in glove" in supporting Ukraine.

• Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has lost 152,190 troops, 3,409 tanks, 2,066 UAVs, 302 airplanes and 289 helicopters in Ukraine