May 9, 2025, is set to become a landmark date for Europe’s future and bringing to justice those responsible for military aggression and full-scale invasion of a sovereign country.
While Moscow was holding a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet “Victory Day,” in Lviv, the EU ministers agreed to create a mechanism to judge the Russian leadership as criminals responsible for the invasion of Ukraine.
According to this landmark agreement, for the first time since the 1940s, the world will have a special tribunal created to punish politicians for the aggression they have launched and supported against another nation.
The diplomats from the Western nations officially gave the green light to the new international court. It is no coincidence that the decision on the tribunal was made on May 9, when Putin hosted a parade on Red Square.
“Putin may consider himself a ‘winner,’ but no matter how much you think you are, the punishment is irreversible. And this is the signal we are giving today,” explains Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha.
The tribunal will investigate only one crime—Russia’s illegal aggression against Ukraine.
In essence, it is a “new Nuremberg Tribunal.” Of course, there are some important differences between the two—and not just the fact that the tribunal for the Russian leadership will be located in The Hague.
The list of defendants in The Hague will include up to 20 people, according to Kyiv: the highest political leadership of Russia and the Russian army. Self-proclaimed president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko is expected to be among the accused.
Unlike Nuremberg, which established its Nazi court only after the war ended, the West has agreed to set up a tribunal for the Russian leadership while hostilities are still ongoing, allowing it to begin operations without waiting for a truce.
One of the key agreements allows for an in absentia trial.
The list of accused in the future tribunal has not yet been officially determined. Until recently, 40 states, including Ukraine, participated in the talks about its creation.
The countries participating in the future tribunal have agreed on a scheme that will allow sentencing even in absentia for a narrow circle of Russian top officials. In this situation, imprisonment will only be possible if the individuals are detained, and the confiscation of assets in Western countries can begin immediately.
Putin and Lavrov will also be able to face charges, but sentencing will be delayed until the end of their terms in office. This was the compromise reached with the participation of the United States.
In March 2025, two months after Donald Trump’s inauguration, the United States decided to withdraw from the process and suspended its participation in the Core Group, the group of states that negotiated the tribunal.
At the same time, the constructive role of the United States in early 2025 allowed a compromise to be reached on how to investigate the crimes of the Troika (the head of state, government, and foreign minister). Under the previous Biden administration, there was no progress on this issue.
“We are creating this tribunal because impunity for crimes is unacceptable. The leaders who decided to send soldiers to Ukraine must also be punished. If there is no punishment, it will happen again,” said Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, in Lviv.
On Europe Day, the EU Foreign Affairs Council held an offsite meeting at Lviv City Hall. Later, diplomats from a number of non-EU countries joined the European ministers for another meeting.
At this meeting, diplomats officially and solemnly gave the green light to a new international court that will investigate only one crime—Russia’s illegal aggression against Ukraine.
EU and Ukrainian officials say they expect the Putin Tribunal to be operational in 2026. There are several stages of legal work ahead.
European and non-European countries will be invited to sign an “extended partial agreement” (a type of document of the Council of Europe) on their participation in the tribunal. The parliament of each of these countries will need to ratify this agreement, and achieving this may be challenging in some places.
The tribunal will be able to start working fully only after the Council of Europe determines in advance a certain number of ratifications. And then bilateral cooperation agreements should be signed (and also ratified) to allow for the implementation of the tribunal’s decisions, such as the confiscation of convicts’ property, extradition of defendants to The Hague, etc.
War crimes and crimes against humanity remain out of the competence of the new court. Numerous documented crimes committed by Russian troops against Ukrainians during the war should be investigated by national courts or the International Criminal Court (ICC). But there is one crime that the ICC does not have the authority to address: the Russian invasion of Ukraine itself.
The fact is that international law, although it recognizes armed aggression as a crime, does not provide tools to punish Russians for it. The Special Tribunal should fill this gap. It should become a unique precedent for the post-war world.
Invasion of an independent country and military aggression are crimes committed by the authorities and elites. The invasion of Ukraine involved hundreds of thousands of military personnel, but the true culprits are the political and military leaders responsible for the aggression.
