On Monday, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the participants of a conference of justice ministers. Speaking in a video address at Lancaster House in central London, hosting justice ministers from around the world, he called on them to support all elements of international efforts “to ensure that the aggressor is definitely punished.”

According to the President of Ukraine, “the circle of partners ready to work together to punish russia for its aggression is inevitably expanding. And it makes the prospect of punishment more and more realistic.” According to Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin his “office has already initiated investigations into more than 72,000 war crimes.”

More than 40 countries were represented at the meeting.

In his speech at the conference, Minister of Justice of Ukraine Denys Maliuska noted that “there is not only strong military support for Ukraine. There is also strong legal cooperation that works for results!”

“We see how russian infantry scrupulously comply with illegal orders given by the kremlin. Many families have lost their loved ones, regions have lost their infrastructure, and the whole country has been half-destroyed by russian soldiers. These losses must be compensated for,” said Denys Maliuska.

According to Iryna Mudra, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine, a “new legal year” was opened here in the UK, in London.

“Today’s event is a kind of ‘legal Ramstein’, which is being held for the second time (the first was in July 2022, in The Hague). And today, 40 countries (including almost all European countries, as well as the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Ecuador, Fiji, and others) have joined the global legal coalition to counter aggression. Both then and now, the partner countries have the same goal: to prosecute the criminals who started the war in Ukraine. Also, such conferences are no longer just a demonstration of the unity of the whole world, but concrete actions, the results of which we have already witnessed,” said Iryna Mudra.

For reference

The arrest warrant for putin issued by the ICC was the first issued against the leader of one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

This year, the UK is increasing its financial support to the court, based in The Hague, the Netherlands, to GBP 1 million, and other countries are expected to commit to providing financial and practical assistance.

On March 20, a conference of justice ministers organized by the UK and the Netherlands opened in London to support the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its investigation of crimes committed by russia in Ukraine.