Ukraine's EU allies on May 9 endorsed the creation of a new international court to prosecute Russia's top leaders over Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The special tribunal would target senior Russian leaders for the crime of aggression to cover the countless war crimes Ukraine accuses Russian forces of committing since the start of the war in 2022.
EU foreign ministers gathered in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv announced their support for the international court on the same day Russia commemorated the end of World War II with a military parade in Moscow.
European efforts to create the tribunal appear to have sped up since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House and began pushing for a rapid end to the war, raising fears that Russian leaders could escape justice.
"There is no space for impunity. Russia's aggression cannot go unpunished and therefore establishing this tribunal is extremely important," EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said.
SEE ALSO: Report: Putin, Other Russian Officials Directly Involved In Transfer, Deportation of Ukrainian ChildrenThe International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague has already issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and another Russian official for the forced deportation of children and strikes on Ukraine's energy targets.
But Russia is not a member of the ICC, so it cannot prosecute Putin and other senior leaders for the decision to launch the invasion. Ukrainian and European leaders came up with the special tribunal as an alternative way to hold Russian leaders to account.
"This tribunal is being set up to pass appropriate sentences in the future," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said in Lviv on May 9.
He added Kyiv wanted the "inevitable punishment for all," including the "president of Russia, the prime minister of Russia, and the foreign minister of Russia."
Similar special tribunals were established after World War II, the Balkan wars, and the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Since early in the conflict, Kyiv has been pushing for the creation of a special tribunal that goes beyond prosecuting war crimes that Ukraine alleged Russian forces committed, including bombing civilian infrastructure, killing civilians, rape, taking hostages, and torture.
“If we want true justice, we should not look for excuses and should not refer to the shortcomings of the current international law but make bold decisions that will correct those shortcomings that unfortunately exist in international law,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a visit to the Netherlands in 2023.
SEE ALSO: U.S. Restores Funding For War Crimes Research On Abducted Ukrainian Children -- ReportThe legal framework for the tribunal was agreed on by leaders in February. It will be funded by the countries who back it, known as the Core Group, including the Netherlands, Japan and Canada.
The United States backed the projected under former President Joe Biden, but the Trump administration does not support the initiative. Kallas said she hoped Washington would "sooner rather than later join."
Putin earlier on May 9 evoked Soviet victory over Nazi Germany to rally the country round his three-year offensive at a military parade in Moscow in front of key allies, including Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"We are not reacting to this," the state TASS news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. Russia has denied Ukraine’s accusations of war crimes.