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Ukraine war
WorldRussia & Central Asia

Europe takes step towards making Russia pay for Ukraine war

  • The Council of Europe is creating a ‘register of damages’ to record tangible costs to hold Moscow accountable for its invasion
  • ‘There will be no reliable peace without justice,’ Ukraine’s Zelensky tells other leaders in a video address

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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the opening ceremony of the Council of Europe summit in Reykjavik, Iceland via videolink on Tuesday. Photo: dpa
Agence France-Presse

A summit of a rights body spanning Europe on Tuesday created a “register of damages” to record Russia’s destruction of Ukraine for future compensation, and heard Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky plead for Western fighter planes.

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Leaders from the 46-nation Council of Europe including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasised that Moscow would be held accountable for the harm and destruction it has caused in its 15-month invasion of its neighbour.

The register of damages, to be lodged in The Hague, aims to record the tangible costs Russia has exacted on Ukraine in that time.

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“There will be no reliable peace without justice” and the register lays the ground for “a full-fledged compensation mechanism”, Zelensky said in a video address at the start of the two-day summit.

(From left) Poland’s President Andrej Duda, Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Moldova’s President Maia Sandu gather for a group photo at the Council of Europe summit in Reykjavik, Iceland on Tuesday. Photo: AP
(From left) Poland’s President Andrej Duda, Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Moldova’s President Maia Sandu gather for a group photo at the Council of Europe summit in Reykjavik, Iceland on Tuesday. Photo: AP
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