THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Thirty-four countries and the European Union signed a convention Tuesday creating an International Claims Commission for Ukraine, a new body meant to rule on compensation claims tied to Russia’s full-scale invasion and alleged war crimes. The commission will build on an existing Register of Damage that officials say has already logged more than 86,000 submissions from Ukrainians, businesses and state bodies, Dec. 16, 2025.
The signing, co-hosted by the Netherlands and the Council of Europe, drew Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and high-level representatives from more than 50 states. Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset urged rapid ratification so the panel can begin its work “for the people of Ukraine,” according to a Council of Europe statement announcing the convention and listing the signatories.
Zelenskyy framed the effort as part of a broader push for accountability, arguing that consequences for wartime abuses should be built into any path to peace. “Every Russian war crime must have consequences for those who committed them,” he said, as European leaders gathered to formalize the commission, according to a Reuters report on the launch.
Ukraine reparations: what the new claims commission is designed to do
The International Claims Commission is intended to review, assess and decide claims that have been submitted to the Register of Damage for Ukraine, and to determine what compensation is due in individual cases. The register itself was created to collect and organize claims information and evidence; the commission is the next step toward adjudication.
The convention does not, by itself, create a compensation fund or guarantee payouts. Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel said the aim is to produce validated claims that should ultimately be paid by Russia, while stressing that the commission “offers no guarantee” of payment, according to Reuters.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, speaking after the signing, said the claims already submitted represent “a life interrupted and a future put on hold,” and argued that Moscow should not evade the bill for the destruction in Ukraine, according to Kallas’ published press remarks from the EU’s External Action Service.
How the process is expected to work
Officials have described the commission as the second major building block in a broader compensation mechanism: first recording claims through the register, then assessing and deciding them through the commission, with the unresolved question of how any awards would be paid.
Under the terms discussed by participating governments, the convention is expected to take effect after ratification by at least 25 signatories, as long as sufficient funding is secured for operations, Reuters reported. That sequencing means the commission’s day-to-day work will depend not only on legal approvals across capitals, but also on sustained financial backing.
The Associated Press reported that the European Union pledged 1 million euros (about $1.1 million) toward operating costs, and that overall funding needs were estimated at about 3.5 million euros (about $4.1 million). The AP also highlighted ongoing uncertainty about enforcement — in other words, how to compel Russia to pay if claims are validated — in its coverage of the treaty-backed commission.
Financing questions hang over any eventual payouts
Even supporters of the commission emphasize that rulings and payments are not the same thing. Early discussions among governments have included the idea of using Russian assets immobilized under EU sanctions, supplemented by contributions from participating states, Reuters reported.
Russia has repeatedly denied allegations of war crimes, and officials in Moscow have described proposals to use frozen Russian assets as illegal, while warning of retaliation. The convention’s backers argue the mechanism is about documenting harm and establishing a structured pathway to decisions, even if collection is politically and legally contested.
Some diplomats and analysts have also cautioned that peace negotiations could complicate accountability efforts if they include provisions such as amnesty for wartime atrocities — a concept that has periodically surfaced in debate over what a negotiated settlement might entail.
The road to today’s commission: key steps since 2022
International momentum around a Ukraine claims process has been building for years. In November 2022, the U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution recognizing that Russia “must bear the legal consequences” of its actions and recommending the creation of an international register of damage to record evidence and claims, according to a 2022 Reuters report on the U.N. vote.
In May 2023, Council of Europe leaders announced the establishment of the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation Against Ukraine, describing it as an early, practical step toward a future compensation mechanism and confirming the register would be seated in The Hague, according to a Council of Europe release from the Reykjavik summit.
In 2024, Western governments also explored financial structures that could bridge the gap between immediate support for Ukraine and longer-term questions of reparations. A separate but related track was the G7’s push for large-scale loans backed by profits from frozen Russian assets, with repayment potentially tied to interest proceeds or eventual reparations, as outlined in a Reuters explainer published in June 2024.
What happens next
Supporters say the commission’s launch is meant to make the evidence trail harder to ignore and the claims process harder to dismiss, even as the war continues and diplomatic efforts intensify. For Ukrainian claimants already in the queue, the convention is an attempt to convert individual losses into a structured legal record — one that can be assessed, decided and, supporters hope, eventually paid.
The immediate milestones are political: ratification in national legislatures, agreement on the commission’s operating rules, and reliable funding to begin reviewing claims at scale. The longer milestone — turning decisions into money — remains the most uncertain part of the Ukraine reparations effort.
