Europe’s highest human rights court has ruled that Russia is responsible for grave violations of international law in Ukraine, including the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17. This marks the first time an international court has officially held Moscow accountable for human rights abuses related to the conflict in Ukraine.
On Wednesday, judges at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) delivered judgments on four cases brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands against Russia since the conflict began in 2014. The accusations included murder, torture, rape, destruction of civilian infrastructure, abduction of Ukrainian children, and the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines passenger flight MH17 by Russian-backed Ukrainian separatists.
“Extreme Cruelty” and “Weapon of War”
Reading the judgments in a packed Strasbourg courtroom, ECHR President Mattias Guyomar stated that Russian forces violated international humanitarian law in Ukraine by conducting attacks that “killed and wounded thousands of civilians and created fear and terror.”
The judges found that the human rights violations extended beyond any military objective, and that Russia used sexual violence as part of a strategy to break Ukrainian morale, the French judge said. “The use of rape as a weapon of war was an act of extreme cruelty that constituted torture,” Guyomar declared.
The complaints were filed before the court’s governing body expelled Moscow in 2022, following the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, the decisions hold mostly symbolic value, as Moscow has emphasized that it will not recognize them. “We will not respect this, we consider it invalid,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday, according to REL.
MH17 Victims’ Families Welcome Decision
Families of the MH17 disaster victims view the decision as a significant step in their 11-year quest for justice. “It’s a real step to understand who was really responsible,” Thomas Schansman, who lost his 18-year-old son, Quinn, in the tragedy, told The Associated Press.
The Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was struck on July 17, 2014, by a Russian-made Buk missile launched from territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by separatist rebels. All 298 passengers and crew members died, including 196 Dutch citizens. In May, the UN’s aviation agency also held Russia responsible for the plane’s downing.
The European Court of Human Rights is an important part of the Council of Europe, the continent’s highest human rights institution. Russia was expelled from this council due to its invasion and war in Ukraine. Nevertheless, the court can still hear cases against Russia dating prior to its exclusion. In 2023, the judges sided with Ukraine and the Netherlands in a jurisdictional challenge, finding sufficient evidence that areas in eastern Ukraine controlled by separatists were “under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation,” including the provision of weapons and political and economic support.
