Six months after the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) has called on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to advocate for the founding of an international tribunal to ensure that those who are responsible for the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine will be held accountable: “Vladimir Putin and his intelligence agencies were wrong to assume – on February 24, 2022 – that the people of Ukraine would give up their independence and their democracy more or less without fighting. Today, on the national holiday of Ukraine, their determination to beat back the Russian invasion is stronger than ever before. The founding of an international tribunal focusing on Russian war crimes in Ukraine would emphasize that Putin misjudged the community of states as well. Thus, it would be an important signal to ensure that those who are responsible for the war are prosecuted,” stated Roman Kühn, Director of the STP, in Göttingen on Wednesday. “All crimes committed by the Russian army on the territory of the neighboring state over the last six months are a consequence of Putin’s decision to start a war of aggression. The executions of civilians, the bombing of hospitals and opera houses, the deportations of Ukrainian people to Russia, and the upcoming pseudo-referendums regarding the question whether the occupied regions should belong to Russia are a consequence of the Kremlin’s decision to attack a neighboring country.”

Currently, Ukrainian investigators are looking into around 25,000 cases of war crimes committed by Russian soldiers in Ukraine – and the International Criminal Court in The Hague has sent war crime investigators to Ukraine as well. However, it is not directly responsible for Putin’s crime of starting a war of aggression against Ukraine. “A new ad-hoc tribunal focusing exclusively on Russia’s war would draw attention to Putin’s decision to start an internationally wrongful war,” Kühn emphasized. “In order to defend Ukrainian independence and territorial integrity, it will be necessary to found a court that will punish those who are responsible. Thus, Chancellor Scholz and Germany’s allies should advocate for such a court.”