THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An international center opened Monday at the Hague to support those building cases against senior Russian leaders for the crime of aggression resulting from the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
The International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine is the latest step in concerted worldwide efforts to hold the Russian leadership criminally responsible for its war against Ukraine last year, triggering Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
The center is based at the headquarters of the European Union’s judicial cooperation agency, Eurojust.
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said in a statement that the launch was “a clear signal that the world is united and unwavering on the path to holding the Russian regime accountable for all its crimes.”
He added that there is “unfortunately, a gaping hole in accountability for the crime of aggression in the international criminal justice architecture.”
The European Union’s executive commission is funding the initiative and agreed Monday to an initial 8.3 million euros ($9 million) in financial support.
The International Criminal Court is investigating crimes in Ukraine and has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine
However, the ICC does not have jurisdiction to prosecute aggression in Ukraine.
