The Hague on Tuesday, 2 April, officially opened the process of filing claims for material damage caused by Russian troops in Ukraine. The international registry created for this purpose is the first step towards compensation and reconstruction of Ukraine.
At the initial stage, Ukrainians whose homes were destroyed as a result of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine will be able to register their losses in the international register. This is the first of 44 categories envisaged by the registry, its executive director Markiyan Kliuchkovskyi said in The Hague at a conference on restoring justice in Ukraine.
The remaining categories of affected citizens should be able to apply by the end of 2024, he promised.
According to Iryna Mudra, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine, the application can be submitted "in a few clicks" using the app or website of the Ukrainian electronic public service Diia. The encrypted data is sent directly to The Hague.
According to the Ukrainian authorities, this project is an unprecedented challenge, as they are already expecting around 8 million applications and expect the number to grow further.
"Russia must pay for the consequences of its aggression against Ukraine. The Register of Damages is a ray of hope for ordinary people who are experiencing immeasurable suffering," said Kliuchkovsky, noting that compensation for the damage will take years.
The International Register of Losses for Ukraine was established on 17 May 2023 at the Council of Europe Summit in Reykjavik. It was the first step towards creating an international mechanism for compensation for victims of Russian aggression.
Forty countries joined this initiative, and the registry's office was opened in Kyiv.
Now, the registry's board of directors is calling on countries to finalise an agreement on the compensation mechanism itself, with access to funds for compensation. For this purpose, it is planned to use the excess profits from the assets of the Russian Federation frozen in the West, while the Ukrainian side is seeking their complete confiscation.