A summit of the Council of Europe, including leaders from 46 nations, has created a “register of damages” to record Russia’s destruction of Ukraine for future compensation. The register aims to record the tangible costs Russia has exacted on Ukraine during its 15-month invasion. The register of damages is to be lodged in The Hague. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded for Western fighter jets, and received pledges of more military deliveries from Germany, France and Britain.
Some leaders at the summit emphasised the registry of damages and how justified they were in kicking Russia out of the Council of Europe a year ago over its war in Ukraine. All of the EU’s 27 countries are part of the Council of Europe, and several of them are in favour of setting up a special tribunal to try Russia’s leadership. Britain is antagonistic towards the council’s European Convention of Human Rights, which is a barrier to its plans to stem the irregular arrival of asylum-seekers by deporting them to Rwanda.
The convention is backed by a European Court of Human Rights which has made rulings stymying Britain’s policies. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte agreed at the summit that they would build an “international coalition to provide Ukraine with combat air capabilities, supporting with everything from training to procuring F-16 jets”. There were fissures in the European community, with Britain seeking reform of the court as part of a strategy to stop small boats carrying refugees from reaching Britain after transiting through France.
