2014 tragedy: European rights court says Moscow broke international law; violated Ukraine, downed flight MH17

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg on Wednesday found Russia responsible for violations of international law in Ukraine and guilty of the downing of Flight MH17 in 2014, which claimed 298 lives. In May, the UN’s aviation agency also found Russia responsible for the downing of MH17.

Four cases were brought to the court by Ukraine and the Netherlands, involving a multitude of human rights violations by Moscow since its invasion of Crimea in 2014, including the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. These cases were submitted in 2022, following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.


The European Court is set to give its verdict on them on Wednesday. The court is also expected to handle more than 10,000 individual cases filed against Russia apart from the four cases.

However, the court’s decision will be largely symbolic. Although its rulings are legally binding on member states, Russia is no longer a member.

Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In 2023, the court rejected Russia’s challenge to its jurisdiction, ruling that Eastern Ukraine—heavily influenced by Russia through weapons and funding—remained under its legal reach.

Russia has also flouted the 2022 order of International Court of Justice (ICJ) asking it to stop military operations in Ukraine while the case was being heard.

Last month, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved plans to set up a new international court to prosecute senior Russian officials for the invasion of Ukraine.