Iceland and Poland back special tribunal on war crimes by Russia and Belarus

April 15, Pozirk. Iceland and Poland have confirmed their willingness to join an agreement to launch the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X.

“We are grateful to our Icelandic and Polish partners for taking this important step,” Sybiha said. “It marks a turning point: with 17 confirmations we have officially crossed the bare legal minimum of CoE [Council of Europe] member states required to put the agreement to vote.”

The Enlarged Partial Agreement on the Management Committee of the Special Tribunal can now be tabled and adopted during the ministerial meeting of the CoE Committee of Ministers in Chișinău on May 14-15, Sybiha said.

“Another step has been taken toward justice for [Alaksandar] Łukašenka and his allies, who committed the crime of aggression,” Pavieł Łatuška, deputy head of the United Transitional Cabinet, said in a comment on its Telegram channel.

In 17 countries, “the individuals who committed an act of aggression will be in the limelight very soon, when the investigation starts and guilty sentences are being handed down,” Łatuška commented on his YouTube channel.

In Strasbourg on April 2, Łatuška met with Gianluca Esposito, the Council of Europe’s director general of human rights and rule of law, as well as the permanent representatives of Slovenia and Latvia to the CoE, Berta Mrak and Agnese Vilde, to discuss accountability for Łukašenka and “his accomplices.”

In November 2025, the Lithuanian foreign ministry informed the Council of Europe about the country’s participation in a special tribunal to investigate war crimes against Ukraine.

Lithuania became the first state after Ukraine to declare its readiness to join the tribunal as a founding member of its steering committee, the ministry said, citing the government’s decision adopted on November 19.

“Accountability for the crime of aggression is essential to ensure justice and lasting peace in the region and the world,” the ministry stressed.

The tribunal’s investigation will focus on “specific individuals, including the top political and military leadership of Russia and Belarus,” the cabinet noted earlier. The International Criminal Court does not have such jurisdiction, so the special tribunal will fill the gap.

An agreement to establish the special tribunal was signed on June 25 by Alain Berset, CoE secretary general and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

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Lithuania joins special tribunal on war crimes against Ukraine

November 27, Pozirk. The Lithuanian foreign ministry informed the Council of Europe (CoE) of the country's participation in a special tribunal to investigate war crimes against Ukraine, according to a statement on its website. Lithuania became the first state after …

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