Russia violated international law through repeated attacks on Ukraine – European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that Russia violated international law through its actions in Ukraine. This is the first time an international court has held Russia responsible for human rights violations since the full-scale war began in 2022.
Russia violated international law through repeated attacks on Ukraine – European Court of Human Rights
Russia violated international law through repeated attacks on Ukraine – European Court of Human Rights
[Strasbourg | July 9, 2025]
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that Russia violated international law through its actions in Ukraine. This is the first time an international court has held Russia responsible for human rights violations since the full-scale war began in 2022.
Judges at the Strasbourg-based court delivered verdicts in four cases filed by Ukraine and the Netherlands, which included allegations ranging from the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014, to the abduction of Ukrainian children, and other human rights violations committed since the start of the war.
While the ruling is largely symbolic — as Russia was expelled from the court's overseeing body shortly after launching the invasion in 2022 — it carries moral and historical weight.
Families of MH17 victims have welcomed the ruling as a significant milestone in their 11-year struggle for justice.
On July 17, 2014, Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, a Boeing 777 traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over eastern Ukraine in an area controlled by pro-Russian separatists. The plane was hit by a Russian-made BUK missile, killing all 298 passengers and crew on board, including 196 Dutch nationals
