Russia responsible for MH17 downing, international law violations in Ukraine, Europe's human rights court rules
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found Russia responsible for the downing of Flight MH17, a Malaysian airliner shot down by Russian proxy forces in Ukraine in July 2014, according to a July 9 statement.
The Strasbourg-based court also found Russia accountable for "widespread and flagrant abuses of human rights" during its war against Ukraine that began with aggression in Donbas in 2014 and escalated after the full-scale invasion in 2022.
This marks the first case of an international court finding Russia accountable for the downing of the plane and for human rights abuses during its war against Ukraine.
"In none of the conflicts previously before (it had) there been such near universal condemnation of the 'flagrant' disregard by the respondent State for the foundations of the international legal order established after the Second World War," the court said in its ruling.
Violations listed by the ECHR included torture and inhuman treatment, restriction of civil rights, forced labor, and more. Kyiv has long accused Russia of a score of war crimes and human rights violations on the battlefield and in the occupied territories.
The court is ruling on four cases lodged by Ukraine and the Netherlands against Russia over multiple violations — including the MH17 downing — between 2014 and 2022, before Russia was expelled from the body following the outbreak of the full-scale war.
"The decision is groundbreaking, most of Ukraine's complaints were satisfied," Ukrainian Justice Ministry official Marharyta Sokorenko commented on social media.
"These conclusions alone prove that truth and justice overcome any propaganda."
Flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast on July 17, 2014, by a Buk missile fired by Russian proxy forces. All 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board, among them 196 Dutch citizens, were killed.
The District Court of The Hague in November 2022 sentenced in absentia two Russian nationals and one Ukrainian national to life imprisonment for their involvement in the downing of flight MH17.
Citing The Hague's court's ruling and the joint investigation team (JIT), the ECHR said Russia "failed to take any measures to ensure accurate verification of the target of the missile or to safeguard the lives of those on board, showing a cavalier attitude to civilians at risk from its hostile activities."
Russia never claimed responsibility for the disaster, instead fanning conspiracy theories to shift the blame elsewhere.
The Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization concluded in May that Russia was responsible for the airliner's downing.
The ECHR is examining other pending cases lodged against Russia by Ukraine, as well as about 10,000 cases brought by individuals.
