Strasbourg, Sept 30 (V7N) – Ukrainians have made nearly 200,000 claims for compensation with the Council of Europe over Russia's invasion since 2022, the rights body said Wednesday.
The body said some 65,000 of the 195,000 damages claims made since its Ukraine register opened in 2024 in The Hague had been accepted and the rest were being reviewed.
The council said claims can now be made in 43 different categories ranging from loss of human life or injury, to deprivation of medical care and education and fallout on the environment and natural resources.
"The Register of Damage for Ukraine represents the legal memory of this unjust war," said Council of Europe secretary general Alain Berset. "It is the first step towards a comprehensive system of compensation for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people for the gross injustices they have suffered," added the head of the rights institution based in Strasbourg.
Under the council's reparations scheme, which has been rejected by Russia, an International Claims Commission for Ukraine would be set up to review claims and decide on the compensation due. The council said a convention establishing the commission has been signed by 39 states and the European Union**, with nine states plus the EU having ratified the convention.
Thirty-four of the Council of Europe's 46 member countries, along with Costa Rica and Australia, have also announced that they want to be part of a future tribunal to judge the Russian invasion launched in February 2022, which has become Europe's worst conflict since World War II. Russia, which was excluded from the Council of Europe after the invasion, has said it would not recognise the future tribunal.
The Register of Damage for Ukraine was established in 2023 as a first step toward holding Russia accountable for the destruction caused by its invasion. The register serves as a record of evidence and claims for future compensation. The International Claims Commission, once established, will review the claims and determine the compensation owed. The process is expected to take years, given the scale of the damage and the number of claims.
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