Zelenskyy to set up int'l military tribunal for legal assessment of Russian war crimes

As the Russian military offensive against Ukraine continues for the second month, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday, 11 April, held a meeting with an expert group that has been making efforts to create a special procedure for the judicial review and pre-trial investigation of all crimes committed by Moscow's armed forces against Kyiv. The group includes the head of the President's office, his deputies, ministers and chairman of parliamentary committees, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, the Chairman of the Supreme Court, and the chairman of courts of cassation. During the meeting, they discussed launching a special international military tribunal that would help to provide a legal assessment of the evidence of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, the President's office said in a statement.

The participants in the meeting stressed that developing such a mechanism will not prevent the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. It is to mention here that Ukraine is waiting for the decision of the International Criminal Court on crimes of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. According to the statement, the mechanism will also help in forming a procedure for compensation of losses caused to Ukraine due to the Russian military offensive. During the meeting, the Deputy Head of the Office of the President Andriy Smirnov talked about the preparedness of authorities to propose a model of developing a special international procedure for prosecuting Russia's crimes against Ukraine and a procedure for compensating victims. It is to mention here that Russian military offensive against Ukraine at the behest of Russian President Vladimir Putin continues for day 47. 

Ukraine begins procedure for inspecting infrastructure damaged by Russia

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian authorities have started the procedure to inspect buildings and structures that have been destroyed due to the Russian armed aggression in Ukraine. The Ukrainian authorities seek to determine the possibility of further action which is the restoration or dismantling of the structure in Ukraine. The development has been confirmed by Deputy Minister of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine Natalia Kozlovska. Natalia Kozlovska in the statement released on the ministry's website has stated that thousands of houses, schools, and hospitals have been damaged by Russian military aggression against Ukraine. Surveys of the structure will be carried out by contractors who have passed professional certification and received qualification certificates for the right to carry out work like technical inspection of buildings and structures.

Image: AP