Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed an agreement with the Council of Europe to set up a special tribunal to try senior officials responsible for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, AFP reports.

The tribunal will prosecute the "crime of aggression" in the invasion, which Russia launched in February 2022, and could theoretically try senior figures up to President Vladimir Putin.

"It will take strong political and legal courage to make sure every Russian war criminal is brought to justice, including Putin. We must make it clear that aggression leads to punishment and we must do it together, all of Europe," Zelensky said after signing the agreement with Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Bercé.

"There is still a long way to go. Justice takes time, but it has to happen," the Ukrainian president added, adding that the agreement was "a real chance to do justice for the crime of aggression."

"Every war criminal must know that there will be justice, and that includes Russia," Zelensky said.

Berce said the next step for the creation of the tribunal, which the Council of Europe hopes to launch next year, would be an expanded agreement to "allow as many countries as possible to join, support and help run the tribunal."

It has not yet been decided where the seat of the tribunal will be.

"International law must apply to all, without exceptions and double standards," Berce said.

It is the first time such a tribunal has been set up under the auspices of the Council of Europe, the continent's highest human rights body.

The 46-member Council of Europe is not part of the EU and includes key non-EU European states such as Turkey, the United Kingdom and Ukraine. Russia was excluded after its invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine and its supporters want to see justice for Russia's total invasion in 2022. European foreign ministers approved the creation of the tribunal at a meeting in Lviv in western Ukraine on 9 May.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has already issued arrest warrants for Putin over the kidnapping of Ukrainian children and four of his senior commanders for attacks on civilians.

But the ICC has no jurisdiction to prosecute Russia for the more fundamental decision to launch the invasion - also known as the "crime of aggression." 

According to the Council of Europe, the tribunal will be established within the body "with a mandate to prosecute senior leaders for the crime of aggression against Ukraine".

The Council said the tribunal "fills the gap" created by the ICC's "jurisdictional limitations". | BGNES