European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will launch an international commission to compensate Kyiv hundreds of billions of dollars in damage from Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine.
The International Claims Commission for Ukraine, established in a treaty signed by 35 countries at Tuesday’s conference in The Hague are set to assess and decide the claims and reparations, including any amounts to be paid out.
Zelenskyy said making Russia pay for its crimes was “exactly where the real path to peace begins”.
“This war and Russia’s responsibility for it must become a clear example so that others learn not to choose aggression,” he said.
“We must make Russia accept that there are rules in the world.”
The launch of the Netherlands-based commission, coordinated by the 46-member Council of Europe, follows the establishment about two years ago of a Register of Damages, which has already received more than 80,000 reparations claims from Ukraine.
The EU have also indefinitely frozen hundreds of billions of euros of Russian funds held in Europe which Zelenskyy said was “about making Russia finally learn to live by the rule of law” in a post to X.
“These Russian assets can and must be fully used to defend against Russia’s own aggression. The aggressor must pay,” he said.
