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Undersecretary Kodar in The Hague: When compensating damage in Ukraine, we must focus on the victims first

Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

04.04.2024

Erki Kodar, Undersecretary for Legal and Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attended the international conference "Restoring Justice for Ukraine" in The Hague, where discussions concentrated on investigating Russia's war of aggression and war crimes in Ukraine, compensating war damages to Ukraine and comprehensive support to Ukraine.

Speaking about holding Russia to account for the crime of aggression and war crimes, Kodar recognised Ukraine for its efforts in bringing perpetrators of war crimes to national and international justice. "Estonia must offer every support to these efforts because Russia must not get the feeling it has impunity when it comes to the crimes committed in Ukraine," he said. "Russia's unlawful war must get an international response. If Russia's leadership goes unpunished, we are legitimising aggression as a tool of international politics."

Participants discussed holding Russia accountable for the damage, loss and injury caused by its aggression in Ukraine. Kodar said the intergovernmental Register of Damage for Ukraine, opened at the Council of Europe, helps gather evidence and damage claims in a single database. "When compensating damage, we must concentrate on the essential, and that is the victim," Kodar said. "Russia has caused and continues to cause irreparable damage to the people of Ukraine. People lack essential products, their homes have been taken from them, not to mention their loved ones," he added. Kodar welcomed the fact that the register first began accepting claims for loss of housing.

Estonia is one of the founders of the register and 43 countries have joined it by now. "The platform makes it easier to compensate war damages to Ukraine in the future; however, we need resources for this," Kodar said. "These resources must be provided by the one who has caused the damage, that is, Russia. Ukraine needs our help in rebuilding its country here and now, and I expect us to use the frozen assets of the aggressor to provide urgent assistance to Ukraine."

Estonia is participating in the joint investigation team of the European Union (JIT) and the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA) to collect evidence of the crime of aggression committed by Russia in Ukraine and ensure that Russia's crimes do not go unpunished. Estonia also supports the investigation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) into the situation in Ukraine and it was one of the 43 countries that submitted a proposal to the ICC to launch an investigation. Four experts from Estonia support the ICC investigation in Ukraine.