ECHR to Deliver Landmark Ruling in “Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia” Case on Set Date
фото: REUTERS
On July 9, 2025, the European Court of Human Rights will issue a landmark judgment in the case of “Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia”, addressing extensive human rights violations committed by the Russian Federation — including the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over the Donetsk region.
This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.
The judgment of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will be delivered at 11:00 local time in Strasbourg. A video recording of the announcement will be published on the court’s official website following the hearing.
“This anticipated ruling will be of historic importance in establishing Russia’s international legal responsibility, protecting the rights of victims of aggression, and guiding future legal proceedings,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Justice emphasized.
This is the largest interstate case in the history of the ECHR — it consolidates four applications spanning from 2014 to the present. The case addresses numerous human rights violations, including crimes committed during the occupation of Donbas, the forcible deportation of Ukrainian children, and Russia’s actions following the full-scale invasion in 2022.
A separate component of the case concerns the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which claimed the lives of 298 people. In this part of the proceedings, the Netherlands is acting as a co-applicant.
In January 2023, the ECHR ruled that Russia had exercised effective control over parts of Donbas and that the downing of MH17 occurred within Russia’s jurisdiction. The court also officially confirmed the presence of Russian troops in Ukraine since April 2014, definitively refuting Moscow’s denials of involvement.
A total of 26 states and one international organization have joined the case — an unprecedented show of global solidarity and support.
By the way, according to the investigative group investigating the downing of the MH17 plane, it is known that the decision to supply the BUK anti-aircraft missile system to the DPR militants, who shot down the MH17 plane, was made personally by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As is known, the Hague court announced its decision in the case of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 by a BUK missile in 2014, which killed 298 people. It is noted that the territory of the “DPR” over which the plane was shot down has been controlled by the Russians since at least May 2014. And the militants of the self-proclaimed republic carried out the Kremlin’s instructions.
At the same time, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong called on Russia to extradite three people who were found guilty by a court of shooting down a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 passenger plane in eastern Ukraine in July 2014.
Meanwhile, Petro Poroshenko reminded reporters in Halifax, Canada, of the beginning of the international investigation into the downing of Malaysian airliner MH17 by a Russian BUK missile. He noted that the decision of the court in The Hague is not final, and this is only the first step towards holding Putin accountable .
By the way, on the eighth anniversary of the Russian downing of flight MH17 over Donbas in 2014, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stated the need to bring those responsible to justice .
It should be noted that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry previously stated that the International Court of Justice will be able to complete the consideration of the case regarding the MH17 flight crash no earlier than the end of 2023 .
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