Agreement on Compensation Commission for Ukraine ratified by only 10 of required 25 participants
The Convention establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine has been signed by 40 countries and the EU, but only nine countries and the EU have ratified it so far, Mykola Tochytskyi, Ukraine’s permanent representative to the Council of Europe, said during the autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, as reported by the news agency Ukrinform. For the document to enter into force, at least 25 ratifications are required, as well as sufficient funding to launch the commission’s work.
He said Ukraine would like faster progress, but the pace depends on each country’s domestic procedures.
In some countries, international documents must go through several parliamentary stages, and the procedure may depend on the electoral cycle. Tochytskyi explained that in certain states, the final approval of the document might require a vote by a newly elected parliament.
About 10 countries have told Ukraine they plan to complete ratification in the near future, he added.
Sweden now chairs the Conference of Participants of the Register of Damage for Ukraine. Its permanent representative to the Council of Europe, Niklas Kebbon, took over from a UK representative on 28 June 2026 for a three-year term.
He also noted a gap between how fast the register is working and how fast the other parts of the compensation system are being set up.
“The number of claims submitted does not reflect the real scale of the damage. Far more people have suffered, including our fellow Ukrainians. For every citizen who has been harmed, the main question is when compensation will come. So, of course, people expect to see at least a first real payment. Until that happens, trust in the mechanism will not grow,” he said.
To provide background, on 30 September, the register opened all 43 categories of claims. They can be submitted by individuals, businesses, organisations, and by the Ukrainian state. The categories cover, in particular, the death and disappearance of loved ones, torture, sexual violence, forced displacement, loss of housing and employment, and damage to property, business, cultural heritage, and the environment.
The register itself does not decide how much people will receive or make payments. It collects claims and evidence and checks whether they meet its criteria. The International Claims Commission will examine each claim in full and decide the compensation in each case. It will be the second of three parts of the compensation system; the third is to be a compensation fund.
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