(MENAFN- UkrinForm) This opinion was expressed in a comment to Ukrinform by Sönke Neitzel, a military expert, historian, and professor at the University of Potsdam.

“So nowadays, to put Russian war criminals on trial, Ukraine had to win the war in the sense of World War II, which I regard as very unlikely,” the professor said.

He recalled that the Nuremberg Trials of 1945–1946, as well as the Tokyo Trials that followed, took place under very specific historical circumstances: the Allies had won the war and had access to the war criminals, who were captured and brought to court.

In the expert's view, the situation resembles more the period after the First World War, when a kind of compromise was reached: Germany was not occupied, except for small parts of its territory.

Then the question arose of what to do with the war criminals, and the Germans said: Well, all right, we will handle it ourselves. This was, of course, a joke.

“So I think Nuremberg and Tokyo, acceptance of the rule, and the rule was that war criminals can escape except in small countries,” Neitzel noted.

He recalled examples from Croatia, Serbia, and African states.

“But Russia is not Serbia and Croatia. It's not Africa,” the historian remarked, reiterating that he considers a Nuremberg-type tribunal for Russian war criminals highly unlikely.

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As reported, November 20 marked the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the international proceedings-the Nuremberg Trial -which lasted until 1 October 1946 and sentenced 12 representatives of the military and political leadership of the Third Reich to death, seven to imprisonment, and acquitted three. In addition, the court declared the SS, SD, Gestapo, and the leadership corps of the National Socialist German Workers' Party criminal organizations.

As a reminder, Ukraine and its partners have decided to establish the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. Still, its work is expected to begin only at the end of 2026, provided the necessary financial resources are available.

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