Will Justice Ever Prevail Against Russian President Putin?

God Is a God of Love AND Justice

The Bible says a lot about God being a God of love and also a God of justice. And that is how the Bible teaches God’s people to behave. That is, Bible believers should love God and support justice in the world when it is carried out. An attempt has now begun to do just that—prosecute “crimes of aggression” committed by Russia against Ukraine.

A Special Tribunal to Prosecute Russian Leaders

Yesterday, the Council of Europe established a “special tribunal” to prosecute the leadership of Russia that has been responsible for Russia’s invasion and destruction of the European nation of Ukraine. This war began in February, 2022, and is ongoing. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, perhaps over a million, and much of Ukraine has been completely destroyed by Russian bombs and missiles. Russian troops occupy about twenty per cent of Ukraine, the eastern portion and Crimea, which is part of Ukraine’s best land. It is the largest attack against a European nation since WWII.

It Is Like the International Criminal Court

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was present for the signing of the agreement in Strasbourg, France, next to the France-Germany border. Similar to the International Criminal Court in the Hague, this tribunal will attempt to prosecute the Russian aggressors against Ukraine, the main one being Russian President Vladimir Putin. The ICC had already found Putin guilty of directing Russian troops to kidnap Ukrainian children, which allegedly amounts to nearly 20,000, and disperse them to Russian families in Russia. All nations that are members of the ICC are supposed to carry out an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin if he ever visits one of the European countries.

The Council of Europe

The Council of Europe is not the same as the European Union. The former is a legal institution with 47 nations of Europe as members, whereas the European Union is a political institution with 27 nations of Europe as members. The EU is geographically smaller, has its own parliament, and is much more known than the Council of Europe. Like the ICC, it remains to be seen if the Council of Europe will ever be successful with this special tribunal in its future efforts to capture Russian President Putin and others and hold them legally accountable for what they have done to harmless Ukraine.