Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, emphasized on Thursday the necessity of punishing all Russian “murderers and torturers” and made a plea for more air defense systems to fend off Moscow’s resurgent attack.
Zelensky stated at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) that the only way to guarantee enduring peace on the continent was to bring the criminals to justice.
“We must continue our dialogue in order to hold Russia as the aggressor state and each of the Russian murderers and torturers to account for all crimes in this war, for every manifestation of terror,” he said via video link.
“When these legal mechanisms are established and operational, it will be one of the most powerful guarantees of long-term peace”.
A similar plea had been made by the Ukrainian president before the UN at the end of September.
Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the International Criminal Court in The Hague launched its own investigation into the conflict there. However, it has stated that it is eager for Ukraine to prosecute suspects when possible.
Even though Moscow is not a member, the ICC prosecutor announced on Thursday that Ukraine might send Russian war crimes suspects to the Hague-based court.
Zelensky also criticized PACE, alleging that it had done nothing after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine in 2014.
“In fact, there was an attempt to write off everything that Russia did against Ukraine and European values, starting in 2014. Write off under the guise of stories that it was necessary to maintain dialogue with Russia at all possible levels,” he said.
Zelensky called for Europe to isolate Russia diplomatically as he made a renewed pitch for “modern anti-aircraft and anti-missile defence systems” to “protect our sky from the terror of Russia”.
“If this is done, it will be a fundamental step to end the entire war in the near future,” he said.
“Europe can take the lead in the efforts to compensate for the damage caused by this war,” he said.
“We have to create an appropriate compensation mechanism – and we suggest the way to create it. The corresponding project has already been prepared by Ukraine. I urge you to support it — both in Europe and at the level of the UN General Assembly”.
