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The EU will join the Special Tribunal on Russia’s crime of aggression against Ukraine

The EU will join the Special Tribunal on Russia’s crime of aggression against Ukraine

13 May 2026, 19:45

The EU will join the Special Tribunal on Russia’s crime of aggression against Ukraine — EU

The European Union will accede to the Enlarged Partial Agreement of the Management Committee of the Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression Committed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

This was announced by Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga.

Denmark has also joined the tribunal, making it the 34th country to do so. The agreement on the legal establishment of the Special Tribunal will be put to a vote at the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in Moldova on 15 May.

Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression by the Russian Federation: what is known

Ukraine insists on the establishment of a Special Tribunal, as the International Criminal Court and other similar institutions cannot, at this stage, hear cases concerning the crime of aggression.

On 9 May 2025, the foreign ministers of European countries and the EU leadership expressed their political support for the launch of the Special Tribunal. On 25 June in Strasbourg, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset signed an agreement on its establishment. The Statute of the Special Tribunal is also ready.

In January 2026, the European Union transferred the first €10 million towards the establishment of the Special Tribunal, and in March began the process of becoming one of the tribunal’s founding members. In April, Ukraine entered the final stages of establishing the Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression by the Russian Federation.

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