he was also this morning in The Hague, visiting PM Mark Rutte
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Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian president Vladimir Putin must face justice for war crimes during a surprise visit to The Hague on Thursday and initiated a minute’s silence for all those killed in the Ukrainian conflict and the MH17 disaster. Speaking at The Hague’s World Forum, Zelenskyy said everyone wants to see a different Vladimir in The Hague: ‘the one who deserves to be sentenced for these criminal actions, right here in the capital of international law. And I’m sure we will see that happen when we win, and we will win….’ The Ukrainian president’s visit comes as explosions were heard over Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities and a day after Russia accused Ukraine of carrying out a drone attack on the Kremlin. Zelenskyy responded by Wednesday, telling journalists: ‘We didn’t attack Putin. We leave it to (the) tribunal.’
On Thursday, he visited the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is investigating possible war crimes in Ukraine and has already issued an arrest warrant for Putin for allegedly deporting hundreds of Ukrainian children from Ukraine to Russia. Russia has called the claims outrageous and unacceptable and doesn’t recognise the court. Ukraine wants a special tribunal set up to try Putin for the crime of aggression, which the ICC doesn’t have jurisdiction over in this case. Outlining his support for a special tribunal, Zelenskyy said: ‘If we want true justice, we should not look for excuses and should not refer to the shortcomings of the current international law but make bold decisions that will correct that shortcomings that unfortunately exist in international law.’
Rutte told a press conference afterwards that the Netherlands is working hard behind the scenes to reach a consensus with its allies on supplying fighter jets to Ukraine. ‘We are working with partners like Belgium and Denmark to bring the debate on supplying F-16s to a conclusion,’ he said. He reiterated that supplying fighter jets to Ukraine is not a taboo subject, but said it is not yet a done deal either.
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https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2023/0...e-hague-visit/
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The Netherlands will fall silent for two minutes at 8pm on Thursday as the country remembers the Dutch who died in World War II and in subsequent conflicts and peacekeeping missions. Trains and cars will come to a halt and there are no take-offs and landings at Schiphol airport. Shops and supermarkets are required by law to close at 7pm, and bars and restaurants warn their clients that the music will stop for a short period of reflection. Football matches and large pop concerts are also temporarily brought to a halt.
Ceremonies will take place throughout the day at war memorials and cemeteries nationwide. The great bell of the monument in the dunes of the Waalsdorpervlakte, where some 250 people were executed, will toll just after 8pm, concluding a silent march past the four wooden crosses which were put there in 1946 by fellow resistance fighters.
The main ceremony, at the Dam war memorial in the centre of Amsterdam, attracts thousands of people. King Willem-Alexander and queen Maxima will lay a wreath at the war memorial, along with survivors of WWII, members of the armed forces and family members of those who died.
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https://nltimes.nl/2023/05/04/130-pe...commemorations