Russia expands attacks on Kiev and southern provinces, Zelensky demands special international tribunal to hold Putin accountable

Russian forces expanded their attacks on the Ukrainian capital and the southern provinces of Odessa, Mykolaiv, Kherson and Zaparozhya with dozens of marches, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr demanded from The Hague the creation of a special international tribunal and accountability for Russian President Vladimir Putin for his actions.

The Kiev Independent newspaper reported that "two huge explosions" and sirens were heard in several Ukrainian regions, and the military administration in Kiev said air defense had been activated.

Ukrainian authorities said the death toll from the Russian attack in the province had risen to 23 and the wounded to 50. The provincial governor said the Russian bombardment had focused on the city center, villages and towns on the contact line.

The Ukrainian military announced the downing of 18 of the 24 Russian drones launched on the south of the country from the Sea of Azov.

He added – in a statement – that he thwarted the third Russian attack on Kiev within 4 days, stressing that the new attack was using Iranian missiles and drones of the type "Shahed" and that his air defenses shot them down completely.

In Odessa province, the military administration confirmed the targeting of the city with 15 drones, 12 of which were shot down by air defenses, and the other three targeted an educational institution in the province.

In Mykolaiv, local authorities confirmed the downing of a number of Russian drones in some territory of the province, particularly in the Uchakov and Kostrup regions.

On the other hand, the Ukrainian army confirmed that it is still holding its positions west of the city of Bakhamut despite repeated Russian attempts to control it.

A Ukrainian army officer said Russian forces were trying to storm his troop positions in Bakhamut on a daily basis, but the troops were holding on to their positions in the battle, which has become symbolic for both sides, as Russia has been trying to take control of the city for months.

Special Court for Putin

On the other hand, the Ukrainian president demanded on Thursday the establishment of a war crimes court separate from the International Criminal Court, and that the Russian president be held accountable for what he described as his criminal acts.

Zelenskiy visited The Hague today to attend the International Criminal Court, which in March issued an arrest warrant for Putin over accusations that Russia forcibly deported children from Ukraine.

In his speech, Zelenskiy added: "The aggressor must feel the full power of justice. This is our historic responsibility."

"Only one institution is able to respond to the predicate crime, the crime of aggression, and that is the court. "There is no compromise that allows politicians to claim that the case is over, but a veritable, truthfully real, and fully competent court."

During his attendance at the court hearing, Zelensky accused Russia of committing 6100,<> war crimes in the past month alone, and said that his country wants real peace, stressing that sustainable peace is achieved by the force of values and law and not by escaping punishment, as he put it.

The United Nations defines an act of aggression as "the invasion or attack by the armed forces of a state on the territory of another state or any military occupation," but the ICC has no jurisdiction over the "crimes of aggression" Zelenskiy refers to.

Among others, the European Commission has expressed support for the establishment of an independent international centre for the prosecution of war crimes in Ukraine to be based in The Hague.

Zelensky meets with ICC President Piotr Hoffmansky during his visit to the ICC in The Hague (Anatolia)

Ukraine and NATO

In another context, the Ukrainian president said that the "realism" of his country makes it admit that it will not join NATO "during the war" with Russia, stressing the need to achieve this demand after its end.

"We are realistic, we know we will not be in NATO during the war," he said, in remarks after meeting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Belgian Alexander De Croo during an unannounced visit to the Netherlands.

"But we want a clear message that we will be part of NATO after the war," the Ukrainian president said.

Kiev has been calling for years to join NATO, and intensified its demand to do so after the Russian war on it in early 2022, considering that such a step would be the only guarantee of its security in the face of Moscow.