The Office of the Prosecutor General will ensure proper interaction between the Special Tribunal and the Ukrainian side - Kravchenko
Kyiv • UNN
Prosecutor General of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko commented on the ratification of the Agreement on the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. He emphasized that this is a step towards justice, where Ukrainian prosecutors will play a key role in gathering evidence.
Prosecutor General of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko reacted to the ratification of the Agreement on the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. He noted that this is another step towards justice, and also emphasized that the work of the Tribunal is based on facts and evidence, so Ukrainian prosecutors will play a key role in this process, UNN reports.
Justice is not an abstraction. It has names, dates, and will have verdicts. I am grateful to the President of Ukraine for the colossal work done to ensure the establishment of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. Special thanks to the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for ratifying today the Agreement on this tribunal. This is another step towards justice.
According to the Prosecutor General, ratification means not just political support, but recognition of the legal force of the Agreement, the obligation to comply with its terms, and a step towards international recognition of the Tribunal.
The task of the Tribunal is to establish individual criminal responsibility of those who planned and prepared for aggression, those who made decisions on unleashing and waging an aggressive war against Ukraine, Kravchenko added.
Positions, statuses, immunities should not be an obstacle. Amnesty will not save. Cases can be heard in absentia. The work of the Tribunal is based on facts and evidence. And Ukrainian prosecutors will play a key role in this process. The Prosecutor General's Office will transfer materials, evidence, procedural requests and fully ensure proper interaction of the Tribunal with the Ukrainian side.
Let's add
Kravchenko also noted that for him, "this is not just legal news."
Since 2014, from Crimea and the East, where I began documenting Russia's crimes, and in 2022 — the atrocities of inhumans in Bucha, I have been waiting for this moment. The commission of these international crimes became possible only through the decision to start aggression, which opened the doors for them. If there had been no aggression, there would not have been thousands of killed civilians, hundreds of destroyed cities, and tortured Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians in places of detention. And it will be an honor for me to personally represent Ukraine's interests in the Special Tribunal.
He noted that prosecutors are building a strong evidence base.
... we will do everything to ensure that it becomes the basis for a lawful, fair, and uncompromising prosecution. No one forgotten. No one unpunished.
Recall
The Verkhovna Rada ratified the agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe on the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.