Bringing Russia to Account: “We must use all possible tools”

There is no single court or tribunal that would resolve absolutely all issues related to bringing all war criminals to justice and compensating for the damage caused to Ukraine by the Russian invasion, so all possible tools must be used.

Ukraine’s First Deputy Interior Minister Yevhenii Yenin said this in an interview with Ukraine’s Telegraf news site, Ukrinform reports.

“We actively cooperate with the ICC, and there are plans to create a separate tribunal for the Russian Federation. There is no single court or tribunal that would resolve absolutely all issues related to the prosecution of all war criminals and compensation for damage to the population of Ukraine and the state. Therefore, it is necessary to use all possible tools,” he said.

According to him, the issue concerns both the International Criminal Court and the European Court of Human Rights. “Despite the fact that the Russian Federation left the Council of Europe, the European Court [of Human Rights] still has the ability to accept and consider applications regarding violations of the human rights convention committed by the Russian Federation,” he said.

Commenting on the possibility of establishing a tribunal for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian military leadership, Yenin said Ukraine hopes that a respective international tribunal will be set up, adding that this is not an easy task.

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He also said that when Ukraine was looking for ways to hold Russia accountable for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, it was already clear then that the creation of a large-scale UN-backed tribunal was impossible, “because Russia has the right of veto in the UN Security Council.”

“Any ad hoc tribunal will have limited ability to apprehend relevant offenders and bring them to justice. For now, we can see that all the red lines have been crossed. Therefore, now the answer lies with the international community, how to ensure the inevitability of punishment for all war criminals, including the Russian president,” Yenin said.