The Ukrainian president and about 30 other countries are moving to formally establish a compensation body to pay for damages Ukraine suffered from Russia’s invasion, with a high-level convention in The Hague marking the effort.

34 states plus the European Union signed on to create a Commission for compensating Ukrainians for war damages and crimes, with Zelenskyy present at the signing.

Ukraine and the participating states approved plans to create this compensation mechanism, while funding remains a central question.

EU and participating states pledged funding, including a one-million-euro contribution from the EU to finance operations and an estimated total need of about 3.5 million euros.

EU foreign policy chief warned that the establishment of a compensation fund will be the main challenge, noting Russia is unlikely to pay voluntarily and highlighting frozen Russian assets in Europe as potential leverage totaling hundreds of billions of euros.

The agreement requires ratification by the legislatures of participating governments, with the level of support described as unprecedented for a Council of Europe treaty.

There is potential complexity in peace negotiations, including talk of an amnesty for wartime atrocities as the U.S.-led efforts continue.

World Bank estimates reconstruction costs in the hundreds of billions of dollars, with ongoing and post-2024 damages expected to raise the bills further.

The World Bank also notes that hundreds of thousands of buildings have been destroyed or damaged and that compensation can cover not only physical damages but crimes such as torture, murder, and the deportation of children.

The proposed bill would allow Kyiv to use macro-financial assistance from the reparations loan to compensate victims, reserving a portion for damages, though funds may still fall short for all claims.

The commission’s purpose is to validate and determine compensation awards from the damage register, with funding talks focusing on immobilised Russian assets and member contributions, though no guaranteed reparations are promised.

Most EU states and the UK joined the signatories; the convention would enter into force after at least 25 states ratify it, which could take 12 to 18 months.