A rights organization summit from across Europe convened on Tuesday and established a “register of damages” to document Russia's devastation of Ukraine in the event that it has to be compensated as well as hearing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's appeal for Western fighter planes.
President Emmanuel Macron of France and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized that Moscow will be held responsible for the suffering and devastation it has inflicted in its 15-month assault of its neighbor. Other leaders from the 46-nation Council of Europe agreed.
The register of damages, which will be filed at The Hague, intends to keep track of the actual losses Ukraine has endured at the hands of Russia over that period.
Zelensky said in a video speech at the beginning of the two-day conference that “there will be no reliable peace without justice” and that the registry provides the foundation for “a full-fledged compensation mechanism.”
But at the moment, Zelensky said, “Russia is trying very hard to improve its ability to kill” because to ballistic missile and drone strikes on his nation.
As a result, he claimed, Ukraine need “additional air defense systems and missiles — we also need more fighter jets, because no air defense system will be perfect without them.”
The request for Western airplanes came shortly after Zelensky made a quick tour of the key European cities in preparation for an anticipated onslaught against Russian forces in Ukraine in the coming weeks.
Germany, France, and Britain all promised to provide further weapons shipments to him. The last two affirmed their intention to instruct Ukrainian fighter pilots.
– JET 'COALITION' – Western nations are hesitant to provide Ukraine cutting-edge fighter planes, for concern that their usage may intensify the conflict.
According to Sunak's office, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Dutch colleague Mark Rutte decided to form a “international coalition to provide Ukraine with combat air capabilities, supporting with everything from training to procuring F-16 jets,” during the meeting.
Other leaders in Iceland highlighted the list of damages and emphasized how right they were to exclude Russia from the Council of Europe for its conflict in Ukraine a year ago.
In “punishing and demanding accountability for the war crimes committed by the Russian occupiers,” according to Scholz, the register would play “a central role.”
To join the project and “actively contribute to filling it out,” Macron urged other nations.
The United States, which was present at the summit as an observer, said that it was in favor of the register's establishment as well.
The registry, according to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, will help prevent future Russian “war crimes” and is crucial going forward because “only justice can be the foundation of a lasting peace in Ukraine.”
All 27 members of the EU are also members of the Council of Europe, and some of them support the creation of a special court to prosecute the leaders of Russia.
That would have to wait till the grinding conflict was over.
To attempt to end a military stalemate, Russia may very well be planning its own spring onslaught against Ukrainian positions.
Despite the summit's portrayal of European unity, there were divisions among the continent.
Britain's opposition to the European Convention on Human Rights, which stands in the way of its efforts to stop the unauthorized entry of asylum seekers by sending them to Rwanda, is a hindrance.
The European Court of Human Rights, which has issued judgments stifling British policy, supports the agreement.
Sunak announced his arrival by stating that he was pushing for the reform of that court as part of a plan to halt tiny boats bringing migrants from France to Britain.
“We're going to do all we can to make it happen… Sunak said, “I won't stop until we can stop the boats, and that's why I'm here.
The leaders' meeting served as an important opportunity for the leaders of European powerhouses Germany, France, Italy, and Britain to connect before the G7 summit, which will begin on Friday in Japan.
