The European Court of Human Rights, in its judgment in the case Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia, found the Russian Federation responsible for large-scale and systematic human rights violations on Ukrainian territory, including the temporarily occupied Crimea. This landmark case addressed Russia’s armed aggression in eastern Ukraine, which began in 2014 and escalated following the full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022.

The Court underscored the unprecedented nature of the violations and their direct connection to Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine. It concluded that Russia is pursuing a deliberate campaign aimed at dismantling Ukrainian statehood and denying its existence as a subject of international law. The ECHR further emphasized that the regime of the Russian Federation is incompatible with the founding principles of the Council of Europe. Among the violations established by the Court are abductions, unlawful arrests and torture of civilians and prisoners of war, the deportation of Ukrainian children, suppression of the Ukrainian language and freedom of expression, and violations of the rights of the relatives of victims of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

The judgment also includes findings related to Crimea, building on reports from international institutions and human rights organizations as well as the Court’s earlier decision in Ukraine v. Russia (re Crimea), which confirmed instances of oppression and persecution on the peninsula. These include the systematic suppression of the Ukrainian language in schools, persecution of Ukrainian-speaking students, forced indoctrination of children in occupied Crimea, and the deportation of children to Russia through the territory of Crimea. The Court also documented cases of confiscation and looting of private property without compensation; persecution of religious communities in both Eastern Ukraine and Crimea, including the seizure and destruction of churches, torture of Islamic clergy, filtration procedures at checkpoints entering Crimea from Kherson Region, and politically motivated violence against Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar journalists, activists, and particularly members of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people.

The ECHR stressed that Russia’s actions in the occupied territories constitute a systematic policy flagrantly violating fundamental human rights and the principles of international law. The Court found the Russian Federation responsible for systematic breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights and Protocol No. 1, including violations of the right to life, liberty, protection from torture, freedom of expression, education, and property rights. This judgment represents a landmark day for Ukraine and all those affected by Russian aggression.