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“The aggressors must be held accountable for their actions. The message must be clear: justice is stronger than the Kremlin’s war,” Zelensky said in his video message sent to the conference on the prosecution of the perpetrators of the crimes committed in the Ukrainian war and compensation for the victims.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba recalled and called the Bucs massacre two years ago a symbol of Russian atrocities, during which Russian forces killed hundreds of civilians in the Ukrainian settlement.
He also announced that Ukrainians could begin submitting their claims for war damages to a newly created registry based in The Hague. The Register of Damage for Ukraine will initially focus on property damage, but will be expanded to include other types of material damage. Kuleba further urged the creation of an international compensation mechanism and the complete confiscation of frozen Russian assets.
In his closing speech at the conference, Dutch Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot said that more than 100 requests had already been submitted in the hours following the opening of the register.
Ukrainian officials expect more than 8 million to file individual claims for compensation.
Cover image source: Getty Images
