"Responsibility for the crime of aggression must reach the highest leaders of the Russian Federation": Kravchenko discussed the work of the Special Tribunal in London and The Hague

Prosecutor General of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko made working visits to London and The Hague, where one of the key issues on the agenda was the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. Following the visits, Ruslan Kravchenko emphasized that responsibility for the crime of aggression must extend to the highest leaders of the Russian Federation, writes UNN.

London and The Hague. One message – responsibility for the crime of aggression must extend to the highest leaders of the Russian Federation! I have completed extremely busy working visits to London and The Hague. These were days of productive cooperation, concrete agreements, and deep support for Ukraine from our international partners.

Negotiations in London

On October 1, the Prosecutor General was in London, where he held a series of meetings with British officials – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, Lord Chancellor David Lammy, as well as with the Attorney General for England and Wales, and the Advocate General for Northern Ireland, Richard Hermer.

The main issue is the work of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. This is one of the key tasks for me as Prosecutor General: to identify and transfer relevant criminal proceedings, evidence, and materials to the Special Tribunal. Our task is to provide the Tribunal with irrefutable evidence to initiate an investigation and further bring the perpetrators to justice.

Separately, according to him, the parties discussed extradition issues. Ruslan Kravchenko called this an important area of bilateral cooperation within the framework of the Agreement on a Century-Long Partnership between Ukraine and Britain. "In particular, Article 6 of this Agreement provides for strengthening partnership in the field of justice and bringing to justice for international crimes," he clarified.

Visit to The Hague

The Prosecutor General's international meetings continued on October 2-3 in The Hague. There, Ruslan Kravchenko participated in the Coordination Meeting on the activities of the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA) and in the Consultative Forum of EU Prosecutors. He also met with Eurojust President Michael Schmid, Europol Executive Director Catherine De Bolle, Prosecutors General and their deputies from Romania, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Spain, and the leadership of the International Criminal Court.

The topic of negotiations included a number of key issues, including asset confiscation.

"Asset confiscation. The 'Freeze and Seize' Task Force projects and Operation OSCAR are shifting cooperation from the level of sanctions to the level of active criminal prosecution and confiscation of Russian assets in Europe to support Ukraine," Ruslan Kravchenko reported.

Sanctions circumvention was also discussed. "I emphasized that Russia still receives dual-use goods from Europe for the production of drones and missiles – through third countries. And these very drones have repeatedly violated the airspace of EU states in recent weeks. This is a global threat that we can only eliminate through joint efforts," Ruslan Kravchenko stated.

About the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression

The Prosecutor General also reported on the results in the context of the work of the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression (ICPA):

• a report structure on the crime of aggression has been formed, describing the role of specific actors;
• systematic analytical work is underway to collect, preserve, and summarize evidence;
• a platform has been created for information exchange between prosecutors and investigators from different countries;
• the CICED (Core International Crimes Evidence Database) has been introduced – a modern tool for secure storage and analysis of evidence regarding the crime of aggression, war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.

"All these materials will form the basis for the work of the future Special Tribunal," Ruslan Kravchenko emphasized.

We have a historical duty to prove: no one is above the law. Our priority remains unchanged - to bring the highest leadership of the Russian Federation to justice for the crime of aggression. The Tribunal's verdict for the Russian dictator and his entourage will be a powerful signal to the whole world: any attempt at a new attack or revanche will never go unpunished.