BRUSSELS

The EU on Friday voiced strong support for establishing a special tribunal to prosecute senior Russian officials for the "crime of aggression" committed against Ukraine.

EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced the support during a meeting in Ukraine’s western city of Lviv, where she and foreign ministers from EU member states met with their Ukrainian counterpart.

The ministers signed an agreement to establish a Special Tribunal under the Council of Europe to address the "crime of aggression" committed by the Russian leadership.

“Today, we are taking a determined step toward justice by agreeing to establish a Special Tribunal to hold those responsible for the aggression against Ukraine accountable,” Kallas said during the signing ceremony.

She addressed questions regarding the US current lack of formal support for the tribunal, emphasizing Washington’s prior contributions.

"The US has contributed to bringing this court together for two and a half years. Therefore, they have been part of this initiative and the core group, and they are working to further develop it. We are very grateful for that. They are not currently part of it, but I assume they will rejoin sooner or later," she stated.

When asked about the timeline for the tribunal to begin delivering justice, Kallas acknowledged that specifics remain uncertain.

"This depends on when the Council of Europe sets everything up and how long it will take. I can’t give a specific date. But I’ve read in the materials that it should happen in 2026," she said.

Kallas noted that an investigation is already underway, describing the conflict as one of the most thoroughly documented in modern history.

“This is the most well-documented war because everything has been recorded with pictures and videos, and we’ve been working on this from the beginning. When the war started, we provided technical assistance from Europe to document these crimes. So that’s not the issue. The investigation is already underway,” she explained.

She stressed the distinction between war crimes and the crime of aggression, which is specifically attributed to a nation’s leadership.

“What I want to emphasize is that this has two aspects: one is the documented war crimes, and the other is the crime of aggression. That’s what we’re referring to with the special tribunal. The crime of aggression belongs to the leadership.”

While expressing optimism about holding Russian leaders accountable, Kallas cautioned that prosecuting sitting officials poses legal and practical challenges.

“But of course, as long as they are in office, there are limitations,” she concluded.