The European Union has transferred the first €10 million to finance the work of a special tribunal investigating the role of leading Russian politicians, including President Vladimir Putin, in the war in Ukraine. This was announced by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas.
In May 2025, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe officially launched the “process of establishing a special tribunal for the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine”. This was preceded by a corresponding request from the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.
In June 2025, the Council of Europe signed an agreement with Kyiv on the establishment of a special court. The document was signed in Strasbourg by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, and the President of Ukraine, Zelensky. The investigation will examine events starting in February 2014, not 2022, when the full-scale war began.
