The British judge who prosecuted Serbian warlord Slobodan Milosevic is now advising Ukraine ’s government on how to put Vladimir Putin on trial for war crimes.
Sir Geoffrey Nice QC says it is essential the Russian leader is brought to book as a lesson to other dictators.
He said: “ Russia has someone often described as a lunatic at the helm who is threatening nuclear conflict.
“That is why we must deter him because if he doesn’t bring us to Armageddon then another like him might.”
And he told the Sunday Mirror that Putin will have to be found guilty in his absence until he is toppled and handed over to be jailed for life.
Sir Geoffrey, 76, led the prosecution of mass murderer Slobodan Milosevic at the International Criminal Court 20 years ago.
The Serbian president died before a verdict was reached on 67 counts of genocide between 1991-99.
The judge has been to Kyiv twice since the war began to meet Ukrainian government officials and said it is essential that any trial should be held on Ukrainian soil.
He told them the way to make Putin account for his crimes was through an international aggression tribunal with judges from Britain, France and Germany.
That was backed by former PM Gordon Brown who said: “To help beat back President Putin’s heinous attempts to destroy peace in Europe, it is time for us to create such a special tribunal.”
And the proposal was supported by Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba.
He said: “There will be no peace without justice. None of the crimes of Russia in Ukraine would be possible without the crime of aggression.”
Sir Geoffrey added: “There is plenty of evidence to convict Putin of crimes against humanity and he hasn’t advanced any defence for his actions.”
Once Putin has been dealt with by such a tribunal the court could begin to tackle those lower down the pecking order.
But Sir Geoffrey warned: “That becomes more difficult because of the evidential problems surrounding who did the shooting and who gave the orders.
“So let’s start off with what’s dead easy to prove and that’s Putin’s guilt. There would be no capital punishment but he would face life imprisonment.
“Sanctions would have to remain in place until he is handed over.”
And the only way that would happen is if Putin is deposed by his own Kremlin cronies and a new regime takes over in Russia.
The Russian president is now desperately trying to reverse setbacks in the Ukraine war.
He is threatening to use battlefield nuclear weapons and is mobilising 300,000 reservists as Russian casualties mount up.
But 1,300 protesters have been arrested after demonstrating against an escalation in the war.
And flights out of Moscow for conscripts trying to flee the draft are either fully booked or going for astronomical prices.
One way tickets for Istanbul on Sunday were being touted for £7,853 and to Dubai for £8,688.
Russians fled to the borders with some taking to bicycles to bypass the long queue of cars and dodge the ban on crossing on foot.
Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and the Czech Republic said they would not offer fleeing Russians refuge although Germany said it might.
Volodymyr Zelensky said conscripts should either protest, fight back or surrender to Ukrainian forces.
The Ukrainian president added: “These are your options if you want to survive.”
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov called Mr Zelensky a “bastard” before walking out of the UN Security Council.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told the UN summit in New York last week that there is “mounting evidence” of Russian atrocities against Ukrainian civilians.
Foreign ministers of 15 Security Council members called for Russia to be brought to account for abuses in Ukraine.
And even Russia’s ally China backed a non-politicised probe of war crimes.
Foreign minister Wang Yi called for it to be “objective and fair, based on fair facts, rather than an assumption of guilt.”
The International Criminal Court began an investigation into crimes against humanity in March and sent teams of investigators to gather evidence.
Russia held sham referendums in four Ukrainian regions last week to bolster its territorial claims.
Mr Cleverly said: “This means Russia will consider these Ukrainian territories as part of Russia.
“They will claim any Ukrainian attempts to retake their own sovereign territory as an invasion of Russia. The UK completely rejects this.”
A Western official added: “Putin still intends to take control of the whole of the country but that is now a fantasy.”
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said: “Tell President Putin to stop the horror he started.
“One man can end it. Because if Russia stops fighting the war ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends.”
