“It will be built on fakes”: why did the EP call for the creation of a special tribunal to investigate war crimes in Ukraine

Members of the European Parliament (EP) approved a resolution calling on the European Union to support the creation of a special international tribunal to investigate war crimes in Ukraine and punish those responsible.

This was reported by the press service of the EP.

As specified in the document, we are talking about holding Russian officials accountable.

“The investigation of Russian leaders and military commanders, as well as their allies in the case of the crime of aggression against Ukraine, should be held by a special international tribunal,” the statement said.

- (Deputies of the European Parliament demand.

) that these investigations and subsequent prosecution also apply to all Russian military personnel and officials involved in war crimes.

The EP also wants the European Union to provide all the necessary resources and administrative, investigative and logistical support needed to create such a tribunal.

In particular, we are talking about providing such assistance to the International Criminal Court, as well as to the Ukrainian authorities.

MEPs stress that the EP must act quickly as there is a serious risk that evidence related to war crimes in Ukraine could be destroyed due to hostilities.

The idea to bring to justice those who are guilty of war crimes on Ukrainian territory is also mentioned in another resolution of the European Parliament, adopted on the same day as the document with the initiative on a special international tribunal.

It states that in the context of the current conflict, there are sufficient grounds to believe that “crimes against humanity and war crimes have been and are being committed” in the country, so the EU “must urgently take all necessary measures” to bring those responsible to justice.

It is also noted that the prosecutor's offices of several EU member states and Ukraine initiated investigations into the events on Ukrainian territory, "relying, where appropriate, on the support of Eurojust."

In addition, as the authors of the resolution added, the office of the ICC prosecutor also announced the start of an investigation into the situation in Ukraine.

“It is important to coordinate and share evidence between the investigative authorities of countries and prosecutors in various jurisdictions, as well as with the ICC or any other court, tribunal or mechanism established for this purpose, in order to ensure the effectiveness of investigations and prosecutions of genocide, crimes against humanity, military crimes and related criminal offenses, including those that could have been committed in Ukraine in the context of ongoing hostilities,” the MEPs note.

• Meeting of the European Parliament

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• © Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance

Like the document on the ad hoc international tribunal, the resolution also refers to the risk that evidence "cannot be securely stored" in a war zone.

“Therefore, it is advisable to create a centralized repository in a safe place,” the MEPs believe.

In addition, in their opinion, Eurojust should be able to transmit to Europol information related to the investigation of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

“Such cooperation should include regular joint assessment of operational and technical issues,” the resolution says.

Engaged body

Recall, earlier, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, in an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde, said that his office would send a group of 42 people to Ukraine to conduct investigations and assist national authorities.

He also praised the cooperation between the ICC and the EU in the framework of the Ukrainian investigation, saying that this will remain in history as a period when international law “began to be seen not as an inconvenience, but as a way to protect society and its values, as well as peace and security.” ".

The fact that the EU intends to assist the prosecutors of the International Criminal Court, as well as Ukraine in the process of collecting evidence of war crimes attributed to Russia, was also announced in April by the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell.

According to him, the union will help with documenting such illegal actions in order to bring the Russian Federation to justice.

Moscow has repeatedly denied the involvement of the RF Armed Forces in war crimes in Ukraine, emphasizing that we are talking about staging staged by the Kyiv authorities and the West.

As Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on April 29, the involvement of the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor's office in the Ukrainian issue is politicized.

“As for the ICC prosecutor’s office, this step of hers demonstrates that she does not even try to maintain at least a semblance of impartiality and objectivity and enthusiastically joins the process in which the perpetrators are clearly appointed in advance,” Zakharova said in a comment published on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry .

"Doesn't inspire confidence"

According to experts, the initiative of the European Parliament to create a special international tribunal, including cooperation with the ICC and the Ukrainian authorities, is only part of an extensive Russophobic campaign.

The purpose of these undertakings is to unfoundedly accuse Russia of war crimes, ignoring the illegal actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine against the civilian population.

“They need to make judgments of an accusatory nature against a large number of Russian officials, primarily those who make decisions related to the special operation.

Both EP resolutions are maximally politicized: from the outset, there can be no question of any independent investigation of war crimes in Ukraine, which are committed by the Kyiv authorities.

This is an exceptional court, which they are trying to present as a legitimate body conducting an investigation, ”said Nikita Danyuk, deputy director of the RUDN Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts, in an interview with RT.

• International Criminal Court

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• © Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images

According to him, the initiative to establish an international special tribunal is nothing more than an attempt by the West to form another "sham structure."

“However, in reality, if this kind of tribunal is created, it will only investigate the dramatizations orchestrated by the Kyiv authorities, which they are so zealously trying to sell to the Western layman.

And if the basis for investigations is initially fake, then it is clear that the institution itself, which uses fakes as evidence, does not inspire any confidence,” Danyuk said.

He also recalled that the reputation of the same ICC is far from flawless.

“Western countries use it to punish objectionable and innocent people.

But when the ICC is approached with demands to punish the representatives of the West for what they did in Afghanistan and other states, then these cases immediately become non-priority, they are tried to be hushed up, and the claims are blocked.

The same thing happened with the Afghan dossier on the crimes of the US military, which was not released after Washington’s threats,” Danyuk recalled.

In his opinion, the initiative of the European Parliament, if it is implemented, is only on paper.

“No specific work will be carried out there, since initially everything will be based on fakes that will be presented as evidence.

The EP knows everything very well, but they turn a blind eye to it.

An information cocoon has already been created on the territory of Europe, and even those crumbs of truthful information that get there from Russia are ignored.

The purpose of the European Parliament, apparently, is to preserve and strengthen this cocoon,” Danyuk believes.

In turn, Vladimir Olenchenko, a senior researcher at the Center for European Studies at IMEMO RAS, recalled in a commentary to RT that European Parliament resolutions are advisory in nature and anti-Russian documents of this kind are no exception.

“This is not a plan of action or direction.

The European Commission may react differently to this.

It can leave such documents without attention, as well as initiate the creation of a working group that will offer options for implementing these wishes.

But in this case, many questions will immediately arise, primarily related to financing, with which the EU already has great difficulties, ”says the analyst.

According to him, the resolutions of the European Parliament on the creation of an international tribunal and the alleged identification of those responsible for war crimes in Ukraine are designed to "stimulate the anti-Russian mood in Europe."

“However, such resolutions can lead to further division of the EU countries on the issue of allocating money for the creation of such structures.

The financial possibilities of the donor countries of the European Union are not unlimited.

The discrepancies between national interests and the interests of the European Commission are becoming more and more exposed, ”the expert concluded.