Who’s a war criminal, and who gets to decide?

This court is “the only way to make sure that the criminals who started the Ukraine war are held accountable quickly,” Smirnov told Agence France-Presse.

“The world has a short memory. That is why I would like this tribunal to start working next year.”

Ukraine knows that the accused will not be present, but this tribunal “will serve to make sure that these people are labelled as criminals, and that they cannot travel in the civilised world,” he said.

Ukrainian prosecutors have identified some 600 suspects in the aggression so far, including senior military officials, politicians and commentators.

US envoy: Russia intends to dissolve Ukraine from world map

An international treaty to set up the tribunal has been drafted, ready to be signed by governments.

The court’s decisions would then be recognised on the territory of the signatory countries, which means that any convicted offenders could be arrested there.

Smirnov said several countries are set to sign the document before the end of the year and negotiations are ongoing with “several European partners [who] are willing to host the tribunal.”

“We want this court’s decisions to be recognised” he said, arguing he “perfectly understands” that the court needs strong legitimacy.

Despite several reforms, Ukraine courts have been criticised for lack of independence and corruption in the past.

Political considerations may explain this.

“Some countries, while acknowledging the aggression against Ukraine, are trying to keep a small window for negotiations with Vladimir Putin open,” Smirnov said.

But, even in western Europe, support is slowly building for the idea.

The European Parliament called for a special international tribunal for crimes of aggression on May 19.

And, speaking at an international conference on war crimes in Ukraine in The Hague last month, Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said the question of a special court was a “very valid point”.

Russian opposition figure arrested

Prominent Russian opposition politician and former mayor of Yekaterinburg, Yevgeny Roizman, was arrested on Wednesday, according to reports.

He stands accused of spreading false information about the Russian army in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, according to news portal e1.ru, which showed a video clip of Roizman talking about his arrest.

He is initially being held for 48 hours, with a city court due to decide on the next steps.

One of the last fierce critics of the Kremlin still active in public, Roizman could face 10 years in prison.

The 59-year-old owns a museum and a charity foundation in Yekaterinburg. Heavily armed and masked security forces entered the charity establishment without presenting a search warrant, the foundation’s director said. Roizman’s offices were also searched.

Documents, computers and other devices were seized, according to Russian news agency TASS.

02:25

‘Will never get down on our knees’: Ukrainians speak 6 months after Russia’s invasion

‘Will never get down on our knees’: Ukrainians speak 6 months after Russia’s invasion

Dozens of people took to the city’s streets in early evening, in a peaceful show of support. As former mayor, Roizman still has many supporters in the city east of the Ural Mountains. There were several arrests, according to reports.

A spokesperson for detained opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Kira Yarmysh, claimed Putin had timed the arrest to coincide with the six-month anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine.

While there are other opposition figures remaining, none have the name recognition and popularity of Roizman.

Political analyst Abbas Gallyamov reiterated the claim that the arrest had been timed to distract the Russian public from the war.

“An increasing number of people are listening to the opposition, which therefore cannot be free,” Gallyamov said.