European Court of Human Rights finds Russia responsible for downing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that Russia was responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over Donbas in 2014, which killed all 298 people on board.

According to the Associated Press, this is the first time an international court has held Russia accountable for the MH17 disaster.

In a separate decision, the court also found that Russia violated international law during the war in Ukraine — marking the first international ruling to hold Moscow responsible for human rights abuses during its full-scale invasion.

The decisions came in response to cases brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands. The Associated Press noted, however, that the rulings are likely to remain largely symbolic, as Russia has not complied with ECHR judgments since 2022.

After the rulings were announced, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia considers the ECHR’s decisions null and void and does not intend to implement them, according to Kommersant.