The European Union and its members should push for the creation of a special international tribunal to prosecute the crime of aggression against Ukraine committed by Russia's political and military leadership a European Parliament resolution noted adopted Thursday, January 19, in Strasbourg. It was voted for by 472 MEPs, against - 19, abstentions - 33, DW said.

The Special Tribunal, by analogy with the Nuremberg Trials after the Second World War, where Nazi leaders were tried, must be set up in close cooperation with Ukraine and the international community, preferably through the United Nations, the European Parliament decided. Such tribunals were established by the UN Security Council to prosecute perpetrators of war crimes in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

The main task of the authors of the initiative is to find a common legally sound way for this, and the main condition - the court must have jurisdiction to prosecute Vladimir Putin, the political and military leadership of Russia, as well as Alexander Lukashenko and the leadership of Belarus as a state from whose territory and with the support of Russia waged war against Ukraine.

The fact is that the top leadership of the country is responsible for the crimes of aggression, but it is subject to international immunity from foreign criminal jurisdiction. This means that immunity must be lifted for such a tribunal. This is what the strong support of the world community is needed for, because the UN Security Council is paralyzed in any issue related to the war in Ukraine, because Russia is its permanent member with veto power.

Therefore, the EU and Ukraine should seek support in the UN General Assembly and other international forums, actively using public diplomacy and strategic communication, the European Parliament resolution stresses.