UK must lead creation of tribunal to punish Russian war crimes, Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska says
Ukraine’s first lady has urged the UK to lead the way in the creation of a special international tribunal to prosecute Russia for aggression against her nation – as she stressed that “just to stop the war is really the first step”.
Speaking to Sky News’ Beth Rigby Interviews programme, Olena Zelenska said Russia is using sexual violence as “a weapon” and that she wants Rishi Sunak’s government and MPs to help “find and punish those who perpetrated the war crimes”.
Ms Zelenska claimed the youngest girl who was raped by the Russian occupiers was four years old and that the oldest survivor was 85.
Promising to raise her wish with the prime minister, Ms Zelenska said: “And, of course, until justice is done, we will not feel safe.”
She continued: “I haven’t had the chance to discuss with the prime minister yet, but I hope that I will do during the visit. So I’ve got the chance to do that and I know that the prime minister discussed it with the president of Ukraine.
“It’s not an immediate solution. It can’t be resolved just by a request. There’s quite a complex number of players here, so that to start to kick-start the process.
“But the key thing is that what we do hope that the prime minister’s leadership will actually prevail and lead to the creation of this.”
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Put to her that the International Criminal Court has only convicted two people for rape in the last 20 years and that it is evidently hard to get justice, Ukraine’s first lady admitted it will be a “battle” – but said if the Ukrainian state and victims fight for justice together, “we will manage together”.
Asked if Russian President Vladimir Putin has any conscience or is “simply a monster”, Ms Zelenska replied: “The second one.”
She also disclosed that she has no direct message for the Russian leader.
“I’ll be very honest with you. I do not want to talk to him directly, ever. I do not want to be in that situation,” Ms Zelenska said.
Probed on how important it is that President Putin faces justice for the crimes he has committed or has asked people to commit in Ukraine, the nation’s first lady stressed that all those complicit in crimes should be reprimanded.
“I think it’s not just one person as Putin, we are talking about collective Putin and we think that, and I think that, the whole collective Putin should be punished,” she said.
Ukraine’s first lady met Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty on Monday
In a deeply personal interview, Ms Zelenska – a mother of two children, the youngest being just nine years old – also described how the war in Ukraine is impacting her own family.
“Well, we do talk a lot about our children. Sometimes I feel they adapt faster than adults. They are much braver than adults. Volodymyr and I try to behave in such a way that they are not worried about us and know that everything is OK.
“I feel we’re doing the right thing. My job is to keep them safe. Unfortunately, right now while we are talking, there is an air raid siren in Kyiv.
“At this very moment, my child is being picked up from school and taken home. And now I worry about whether he [my son] will make it home safely.”
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Russia using rape as ‘a weapon’
Asked about her husband, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ms Zelenska discloses that her children “don’t see their father very often” and that she tries “to give them the confidence and stability that they crave”.
“When they see their father, we try to enjoy every minute. But, of course, we are looking forward to the time when we don’t have to watch the time and count the minutes until we all have to go in different directions,” she added.
Ukraine’s first lady told Sky News it is her country’s “main goal” to ensure peace is restored in the nation and that traditional Christmas celebrations can take place in 2023.
But she said Ukrainians will “warm each other with our hearts” this year, as Russia continues to attack the country’s energy infrastructure including transmission lines, power stations and pipelines.
Ms Zelenska also urged Britons to both “enjoy Christmas” and “wish Ukraine peace as well in your Christmas wishes”.
Ukraine’s first lady later reiterated her call for the UK to become a leader in helping her nation achieve “justice” against Russia as she addressed an audience of MPs and peers that included Boris Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer.
In front of both a Union Jack and a Ukrainian flag, she said: “We need to unite the world community just as it happened in January 1942 to support the special tribunal against the aggression of Russia against Ukraine.”
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
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