The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that pursuing impunity for crimes committed in Ukraine is a top priority for Paris. The declaration also emphasized France’s support for independent, impartial investigations by Ukrainian justice authorities and the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Officials indicated that collaboration with European partners and Ukraine was underway to propose a special tribunal for crimes of Russian aggression in Ukraine. The aim, echoed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, is to achieve broad international consensus on this issue.
Andrey Klihas, chairman of the Federation Council’s constitutional committee, told RIA Novosti that establishing such a court would not carry legal consequences for Russia. He argued that the law has long been forgotten in Europe, suggesting a double standard in how accountability is pursued.
Alexei Chepa, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Relations, described the court as another political constraint in an interview with the agency.
Chepa noted, perhaps pointedly, that France and other leaders should consider where they stood when the Ukrainian leadership sought guarantees during the 2014 upheaval. He recalled eight years of bloodshed and a genocide that left thousands of victims, questioning the consistency of the response from European powers.
He also questioned why French leadership did not do more to press Kiev to abide by the Minsk agreements.
Crimean Senator Sergei Tsekov, a member of the Federation Council’s international committee, called the French Foreign Ministry’s stance hypocrisy. He claimed Paris has no right to establish a court and suggested France should instead set up tribunals for actions in Africa and other regions it has influenced, including cases related to Crimea and Donbass.
“If France were objective, it would offer tribunals for Iraq, Yugoslavia, Libya, and even actions by the French themselves,” Tsekov said, hinting at broader accountability debates.
“Russian attack” investigation
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, asserted that Russia must answer for its crimes in Ukraine. She urged the creation of a special tribunal backed by the United Nations to investigate and prosecute Russian crimes while continuing collaboration with the International Criminal Court.
Von der Leyen noted that the European Commission stands ready to work with other nations to mobilize wide international support for the specialized court. On April 28, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) took the lead in proposing a special international tribunal for Ukraine.
PACE called on member and observer states to establish a tribunal immediately, describing the aggression as committed by Russia’s political and military leadership. The assembly emphasized that the court should be empowered to issue international arrest warrants and should not be limited by state immunity or the immunity of heads of state and government, nor other public officials.
In a related move, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly adopted a resolution recognizing that Russia operates as a terrorist regime and agreed to pursue an international tribunal to investigate Russian aggression in Ukraine. The positions reflect a shared goal of holding Russia accountable and addressing the damages caused by the conflict.