The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) struck down Russia's claims against Ukraine filed in 2021, the court informed on July 18.
"The Court has decided to strike the application Russia v. Ukraine out of its list of cases," the ECHR said in its press release.
"The case concerned the Russian Government's allegation of a pattern of violations of the European Convention on Human Rights by Ukraine since 2014."
According to the official statement, the court concluded that Russia no longer wishes to pursue its application as it ceased to communicate on the matter.
Moscow filed the inter-state application against Kyiv at the Strasbourg-based court on July 22, 2021, accusing Ukraine of human rights violations since 2014, imposing restrictions on the Russian language, and causing the MH17 airliner disaster, among other points.
According to a ruling by a Dutch court in November 2022, the MH17 airliner was shot down due to the actions of two Russians and one Ukrainian fighting on the Russian side.
Ukraine's Justice Minister Denys Maliuska denied the accusations of human rights violations, calling them "myths of Russian propaganda."
"From a legal point of view, inevitable defeat is awaiting them," Malisuka commented shortly after the application was filed.
According to the ECHR, Russia submitted more than 2,000 sets of documents supporting its application in April 2022 but has since then stopped communicating with the court.
The court also found "no grounds relating to respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its Protocols," adding that some complaints raised by Russia overlap with almost 8,500 individual applications raised since 2014 against Russia, Ukraine, or both countries.
Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe, under which the ECHR operates, on March 16, 2022.
Ukraine also filed applications at the ECHR against Russia over human rights violations in eastern Ukraine since 2014, including the MH17 downing, which the court ruled to be admissible.
Alexander Khrebet
(Updated: )
