European leaders gathered in The Hague on Tuesday to launch an International Claims Commission aimed at compensating Ukraine for hundreds of billions of dollars in damage caused by Russia's invasion, officials said.
The Hague-based commission will assess claims related to destruction and alleged war crimes stemming from Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attended the one-day conference alongside senior European officials, including EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
About the iniciative
The initiative, co-hosted by the Netherlands and the Council of Europe, comes as diplomatic efforts led by the United States seek to bring an end to the nearly four-year war.
"Without accountability, a conflict cannot be fully resolved," Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel told reporters. "Part of that accountability is paying for the damage that has been done."
The commission will build on the Register of Damage for Ukraine, which has already received more than 80,000 claims from individuals, companies and public bodies. Claims cover a wide range of losses, including destroyed homes, infrastructure damage, human rights violations and alleged war crimes.
Matters remain unresolved
How compensation would ultimately be paid remains unresolved. European officials have discussed using Russian state assets frozen by the European Union, alongside contributions from member states, though Moscow has warned such moves would be illegal and has threatened retaliation.
"The goal is to have validated claims that will ultimately be paid by Russia," Van Weel said, adding that the commission itself offers no guarantee of payment.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied accusations of war crimes and rejects Western efforts to use frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine's recovery.
More than 50 countries and the EU
More than 50 countries and the EU have drafted a Council of Europe convention to establish the commission. It will enter into force once ratified by at least 25 signatories and once sufficient funding is secured. Over 35 nations are expected to sign the convention.
The World Bank estimates Ukraine will need about $524 billion for reconstruction over the next decade, a figure that does not include damage caused by Russian strikes this year.
The commission is intended to form the second pillar of an international compensation mechanism for Ukraine, reviewing claims and determining awards on a case-by-case basis.