Europe has officially launched an International Claims Commission for Ukraine, aiming to ensure Kyiv is compensated for the hundreds of billions of dollars in damages caused by Russian attacks and alleged war crimes.
The announcement was made at a high-level gathering in The Hague on Tuesday, attended by dozens of leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The event coincided with a U.S.-led diplomatic push to bring an end to the war, which erupted following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“Every Russian war crime must have consequences for those who committed them,” Zelenskiy said during the gathering. “That’s exactly where the real path to peace begins. It’s not enough to force Russia into a deal. It’s not enough to make it stop killing. We must make Russia accept that there are rules in the world.”
Reparations for Victims
While the establishment of the commission signals a major step toward accountability, it does not guarantee swift reparations for Ukrainians.
The Hague-based commission will assess claims, but the mechanism for enforcing payments remains to be determined. Early proposals include using Russian assets frozen by the European Union, supplemented by contributions from member states.
Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel emphasized, “The goal is to have validated claims that will ultimately be paid by Russia. It will really have to be paid by Russia; this commission offers no guarantee for the damages.”
The commission will incorporate Ukraine’s two-year-old Register of Damage, which has already received over 86,000 claims from individuals, organizations, and public bodies across the country, covering a wide range of categories.
Russian officials were not immediately available for comment. The Kremlin continues to deny allegations of war crimes by its forces in Ukraine and has condemned proposals to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s defense and budget needs, labeling such measures as illegal and warning of potential retaliation.
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