The Ukrainian government wants the highest Russian state and military leadership to be held legally responsible for the war of aggression against Ukraine.
As an example of his call for a special tribunal, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cited the Nuremberg tribunal, where the Nazis were sentenced for their war crimes after World War II. Ukraine is already working with many countries and organizations such as the International Criminal Court "so that every Russian murderer receives the punishment he deserves," he said in his daily video address last night. "But unfortunately the available international legal instruments for justice are not sufficient."
"Even before the International Criminal Court it is still impossible to try the highest political and military leadership of Russia for the crime of aggression against our state - for the main crime," Zelenskyy said. Therefore, in addition to the International Criminal Court, a special tribunal is needed. "And we are doing everything to create such a tribunal." The Ukrainian head of state had already campaigned for a special tribunal before the UN General Assembly in September.
He recalled that in January 1942, long before the end of the Second World War, the Allies laid the foundation for the legal prosecution of Nazi war crimes in London. The then St. James Declaration initiated the way to the later Nuremberg Tribunal.
Ukraine reports numerous attacks on infrastructure
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the Russian military shelled numerous civilian infrastructure objects in Ukraine yesterday. A total of 26 airstrikes and one rocket attack were registered. "And there is still a risk that the enemy will launch missile attacks on critical infrastructure facilities deep in the hinterland."
The General Staff once again criticized the fact that neighboring Belarus continued to support Russia's war of aggression and continued to make its territory and airspace available for missile and air strikes.
"The situation at the front is difficult," Zelenskyj said in the evening. "Despite extremely large Russian losses, the occupiers are still trying to advance into the Donetsk region, gain a foothold in the Luhansk region, advance into the Kharkiv region, they are planning something in the south." Nonetheless, the defense stands up. "This year Russia will lose hundreds of thousands of soldiers killed and God knows how many mercenaries," predicted the president.
Attacks and blackouts in Russia's Kursk Oblast
In Russia's Kursk Oblast, which borders Ukraine, several unspecified attacks led to temporary power outages. A total of eleven attacks were registered, which hit several power supply systems, Governor Roman Stawrowojt said on Telegram.
There were initially no reports of possible victims.
IMF boss emphasizes solidarity with Kyiv
The Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, underlined her solidarity with Ukraine and called for further financial support for the country. The money must continue to flow so that Ukraine can heal its wounds, said the head of the IMF last night in an interview with ARD "Tagesthemen".
"We have been able to mobilize around five billion dollars a month for Ukraine, this money is flowing, it must continue to flow." Close cooperation with Kyiv ensures that the money gets to where it is needed. Ukraine has been shown how to keep an economy going despite the war.
Scholz renews anti-aircraft offer to Poland
Chancellor Olaf Scholz renewed the offer to station German Patriot anti-aircraft systems in Poland. "Our offer to the Polish government to protect our own country is still not off the table," said Scholz yesterday in Berlin.
He also promised Ukraine further support for repelling air attacks. "We've just launched new delivery options for the cheetah," he said, without giving details. Germany has already made 30 Gepard anti-aircraft vehicles available to Ukraine.
After a missile hit Polish territory in mid-November, the German government offered the NATO partner Patriot anti-aircraft batteries to secure its airspace. However, Warsaw believes it makes more sense to station it on Ukrainian soil.
Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) also confirmed in an interview with the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" that the federal government would uphold the offer to Poland. When asked, she confirmed that this meant the stationing of German patriots with German occupation on Polish soil.
Bundestag debate on Ukrainian "Holodomor"
A mass murder organized from Moscow in the Ukraine 90 years ago is now occupying the German Bundestag. MEPs want to recognize the deliberate famine in Ukraine, which was part of the Soviet Union at the time, as genocide.
The so-called Holodomor ("Murder by Hunger") killed up to four million people in 1932 and 1933.
