Since 24 February 2022, Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine has led to widespread death, suffering and destruction. The war has been marked by documented war crimes, including torture, inhumane treatment, and sexual violence. The aggression has also inflicted extensive and profound damage on buildings and critical infrastructure across nearly every region of the country.

Accountability

A decision was taken at the Council of Europe Summit in Reykjavík in May 2023 to set up, under the auspices of the Council of Europe, the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.  In April 2024, the Register opened for the submission of claims. The Register has its seat in The Hague (the Netherlands), with a satellite office in Ukraine. It is established for an initial period of three years.

The Register, launched to serve as a record of all eligible claims for compensation for the widespread damage, loss and injury caused by the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, serves as a key mechanism for individuals, businesses, and the State of Ukraine to seek reparation under international law.

As of 1 October 2024, more than 10,000 claims have been submitted to the Register of Damage under the category of damage or destruction of residential housing. Since January 2025, the Register started accepting claims for compensation from family members who lost a close relative due to Russia’s full‑scale invasion. They may seek compensation for their own mental pain and anguish.

The establishment of the Register was the first step towards ensuring Russia’s accountability. Work on a compensation mechanism and on the creation of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, within the framework of the Council of Europe, is well under way. In February 2024, the legal foundations of the Special Tribunal, including key elements of its stature were laid down.

The European Court of Human Rights currently has some 9,200 individual applications pending concerning the conflicts in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol and in eastern Ukraine, as well as Russia’s military operations in Ukraine since February 2022. Besides, there are currently four inter-state pending cases against Russia at the European Court of Human Rights which concern the events in Ukraine, including Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia case about the conflict in eastern Ukraine from spring 2014, including the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in July 2014.

Despite the fact that after the exclusion of Russia from the Council of Europe in March 2022, Russia ceased to be a State Party to the European Convention on Human Rights on 16 September 2022, the European Court of Human Rights remains competent to deal with alleged violations which took place before that date.

Children of Ukraine

The work on ensuring accountability is only a part of the larger response by the Council of Europe to Russia’s war against Ukraine. Another important area of action is ensuring the protection of the human rights of children of Ukraine, both inside the country and elsewhere in Europe.

In May 2023, at the Reykjavik Summit, the Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe called on the Council of Europe to take action on the situation of the children of Ukraine and to ensure the protection of their human rights and fundamental freedoms.

As a direct result of the Reykjavik Declaration adopted at the summit, the Consultation Group on the Children of Ukraine (CGU) Group was created in 2023. It is a unique multilateral cooperation platform dedicated to enhancing the rights of children affected by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine; children who fled to Council of Europe member states.  The CGU works, inter alia, on promoting children of Ukraine’s in-person schooling while ensuring links to their cultural identities, on raising awareness of risks of trafficking of children of Ukraine, on enhancing effective guardianship systems for children of Ukraine, who moved to host states without parents or caregivers, as well as on enhancing psycho-social support and trauma-informed care for children of Ukraine, including those returning from unlawful deportation to the Russian Federation and temporarily controlled or occupied territories.

In February 2025, Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjord Gylfadóttir of Iceland was appointed as the Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on the situation of children of Ukraine. Her mandate includes fostering international co-operation, raising awareness of the challenges faced by the children of Ukraine and promote Council of Europe standards, initiatives and activities in support of children of Ukraine. She will also ensure internal co-ordination and cooperation with all Council of Europe relevant entities, including the CGU and the Register of Damage.

Other support

The organisation has also been consistently providing legal and policy advice to Ukraine, training investigation experts and professionals working with victims of violence, especially women, including through the Council of Europe’s dedicated Ukraine Action Plan “Resilience, Recover and Reconstruction” (2023-2026) with a record budget of 50 million euros.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities have also been active in addressing the consequences of Russia’s aggression and supporting Ukraine and its people.