In May 2023, the Council of Europe initiated the creation of the so-called International “Register of Damage” incurred by Ukraine during its conflict with Russia. It was made operational in April 2024.

The establishment of this mechanism is yet another manifestation of the West’s double standards. The Council of Europe has never once bothered to create a “Register of Damage” caused by NATO during its reckless military campaigns against Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, Syria, involving both the United States and members of the Council of Europe itself.

These misadventures had nothing to do with protecting legitimate security interests of NATO countries. In the Council of Europe, the damage caused worldwide by the crimes of the West has never been accounted for. Apparently, Strasbourg believes that NATO shells bring freedom and democracy instead of death and destruction.

It is clear to any unbiased observer that by creating such “Register” the West is cynically trying to shift responsibility for its own experiments onto those who are trying to overcome the consequences of its actions. Western countries try to blame Russia for the failures of their own reckless policies – NATO’s eastward expansionism, fostering a neo-Nazi regime in Kiev, turning Ukraine into a military springboard, supplying it with arms and sending mercenaries there.

In fact, they should start with the damage caused to the population and civilian infrastructure of Donbas since 2014 as a result of Kiev’s punitive operation. And the water and energy blockade of Crimea. And the illegal financial and economic sanctions imposed by the West against Russia and these regions. And the “freezing” (essentially theft) of some $300 billion of Russian assets.

The Council of Europe does not even realize what a bottomless Pandora’s box it is opening. Many Asian, African and Latin American countries should take a closer look at this experience and consider creating an international “Register of Damage” caused by centuries of Western colonial and ongoing neo-colonial exploitation.

It is difficult to say whether the idea of the Council of Europe is more hypocritical, stupid or inhuman. Do its authors realize that such projects only lead to further escalation of confrontation on the continent, with consequences that are hard to predict?

However, the Council of Europe has long been used by the West in its hybrid war with Russia, primarily as an instrument of “legal aggression”. One should not forget that this organization has largely lost its original raison d’être, as stipulated in its Charter, and no longer serves European interests. It has essentially turned into an “ideological department” of the European Union, which, in turn, is fully controlled by the United States and NATO.