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Early signals from Donald Trump’s emerging peace roadmap for Ukraine have triggered unease in Brussels.
The Trump administration is pushing for a peace deal to be made between Russia and Ukraine, and today, Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is scheduled to meet with Putin in Moscow.
In mid-November, Axios revealed that the U.S. was working on a 28-point peace plan for the war in Ukraine, but when it was revealed, it was heavily criticized for favoring Russian interests instead of actually proposing a just peace agreement.
One of the points in the draft was that “all parties involved in this conflict will receive full amnesty for their actions during the war and agree not to make any claims or consider any complaints in the future.”
But this would be a terrible mistake, and might even pave the way for a new conflict, the EU warns.
“History won’t judge kindly”
In an interview with POLITICO, European Commissioner for Justice and Democracy Michael McGrath said any ceasefire push must avoid shielding Russian officials from prosecution.
Some early drafts of the U.S. peace plan included the idea of “full amnesty for actions committed during the war,” a prospect that has alarmed several EU capitals.
“I don’t think history will judge kindly any effort to wipe the slate clean for Russian crimes in Ukraine,” McGrath told the outlet, adding that allowing impunity would “sow the seeds of the next round of aggression.”
Arrest warrant for Putin
The EU and partner states are advancing plans for a special tribunal focused on the crime of aggression, complementing the International Criminal Court’s 2023 arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin over the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children.
Trump, however, has shown little inclination to back prosecutions.
In June 2025, Ukraine and the Council of Europe signed an agreement to establish the Special Tribunal, paving the way for the creation of an international and independent tribunal to prosecute the crime of aggression.
It is aimed at prosecuting individuals responsible for the Russian invasion of Ukraine under the legal concept of crimes of aggression.
178,000+ criminal cases since the invasion
European resistance reflects years of international reporting on alleged Russian abuses, including the disappearance of thousands of Ukrainian children and strikes on civilian areas such as Bucha and Mariupol.
Ukrainian investigators say they have opened more than 178,000 cases since the war began, while a recent United Nations commission concluded that Russian forces carried out crimes against humanity through drone attacks and forced displacement.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied the allegations of Russian troops committing war crimes and crimes in general.
Sources: POLITICO, United Nations reporting, International Criminal Court filings, European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation
