International Claims Commission for Ukraine set up for reparations
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Top European officials including President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed Tuesday to set up an international body to decide on tens of billions of euros of eventual reparations to compensate Ukraine over Russia’s invasion.
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The International Claims Commission for Ukraine, signed by 35 countries, will assess and decide on claims for reparations, including any amount to be paid out.
“We expect that every mechanism for compensation… will start and receive strong and sufficient international support so that people can truly feel that any kind of damage caused by the war can be compensated,” Zelensky told delegates.
“This war and Russia’s responsibility for it must become a clear example so that others learn not to choose aggression,” added the president.
The commission’s establishment follows the setting up of a so-called “Register of Damages”, which has already received more than 80,000 claims for reparations from individuals or organisations.
The third step will be setting up a compensation fund. It is not clear how that critical part of the process will work in practice.
The reparations mechanism is being coordinated via the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, the 46-nation group protecting human rights on the continent.
Alain Berset, secretary general of this council, told reporters: “The establishment of the compensation fund is expected within a timeframe of approximately 12 to 18 months.”
“And then, clearly, payments to victims will follow once the fund is operational and claims are made,” he added.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof announced that the new commission would be based in The Hague.
“We are sending a very clear message from here in The Hague. That after peace is achieved, justice must be allowed to take its course,” said Schoof.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the message to Ukrainians seeking reparations was: “We haven’t forgotten that you have suffered.”
‘Accountability and reparation’
The key sticking point will be how to find the cash for reparations.
EU leaders are under pressure to reach an agreement on what to do with an estimated 200 billion euros ($232 billion) of frozen Russian assets at a summit starting Thursday.
They are seeking ways to fund a loan to Kyiv which would be paid back by any eventual Russian reparations to Ukraine.
But while the plan has the strong backing of many member states, including heavyweight Germany — it has drawn fierce opposition from Belgium.
The country is home to international deposit organisation Euroclear — which holds most of the Russian assets — and has so far rejected the proposal because of potential legal repercussions. Russia’s central bank announced last week that it would file a lawsuit in Moscow against Euroclear.
The debate over frozen assets comes alongside efforts to end the Ukraine war, which US President Donald Trump said was “closer now than we have been ever.”
After two days of talks with senior US officials in Berlin, Zelensky said negotiations were “not easy” but brought “real progress” on the question of security guarantees.
European leaders on Monday proposed a European-led “multinational force” with US support to enforce a potential peace deal.
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