The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) declared that the Russian Federation is responsible for numerous systematic human rights violations in the occupied territories of Ukraine, both before and after February 24, 2022. The court also addressed the case concerning the Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 crash in 2014 over Donetsk.

Source: "European Truth" referencing the court's ruling.

The Russian representatives were absent during the announcement of the ruling, as they were in previous hearings.

The case combined four interstate complaints against Russia from Ukraine and the Netherlands:

• Ukraine v. Russia (No. 8019/16) – violations during the armed conflict in Donbas, including the MH17 downing, torture, forced labor;
• Ukraine v. Russia (No. 43800/14) – abduction of Ukrainian children in 2014;
• Netherlands v. Russia (No. 28525/20) – circumstances surrounding the MH17 crash;
• Ukraine v. Russia (No. 11055/22) – severe human rights violations during the full-scale invasion since February 24, 2022.

The court unanimously determined that it has jurisdiction over these complaints concerning events that occurred before September 16, 2022, when Russia's membership in the Council of Europe was suspended.

The court found the Russian Federation guilty of numerous human rights violations occurring in the occupied territories before and after February 24, 2022, noting their mass and systematic nature.

These violations include arbitrary killings of civilians and prisoners of war, unlawful detention, inhumane treatment, torture, and disregard by Russia for the consequences of its actions on the civilian population. The suppression of Ukrainian identity through education, the practice of "filtering" Ukrainian citizens, and their forced relocation deeper into occupied territories or to Russia are also listed as violations.

The court also established that flight MH17 was shot down by a Russian Buk missile system, and Russia is held accountable for enabling this tragedy.