Moscow ‘responsible’ for MH17 crash, human rights violations in Ukraine

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has dealt Russia a double whammy! One for ordering the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in 2014 and another for violating human rights laws during its war with Ukraine.

France 24 reported that it is the first time that an international court finds Moscow responsible for the MH17 crash that killed 298 passengers and human rights violations in Ukraine, following its full-scale invasion three years ago.

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is ruling on four cases brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands against Russia. They encompass a broad range of human rights violations charges since the start of the Ukraine-Russia war, during the full-scale invasion since the start of the war, including the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 and the kidnapping of Ukrainian children.

A ‘largely symbolic’ decision

“In none of the conflicts previously before [the Court had] there been such near universal condemnation of the ‘flagrant’ disregard by the respondent State for the foundations of the international legal order established after the Second World War,” said the Strasbourg-based court in its judgment.

Any decision by the ECHR will be largely symbolic, as its rulings are not enforceable in practice. Russia was a member of the court but was expelled in 2022, following its invasion of Ukraine. However, the court can still handle cases against Russia dating back to before its expulsion, and, legally, the country remains obligated to participate in the proceedings.

However, families of the victims of the MH17 disaster see the court’s decision as an important milestone in their 11-year fight for justice.

“It’s a real step in understanding who was responsible,” Thomas Schansman, who lost his 18-year-old son Quinn in the tragedy, told The Associated Press. “Russia never took any opportunity to tell the truth.”

MH17 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014, when it was struck by a surface-to-air missile over eastern Ukraine, during the conflict between pro-Russia rebels and Ukrainian forces in the region. All 298 passengers on board were killed, among them 196 Dutch citizens.

Russian officials deny, deny, deny

In 2018, a Dutch court confirmed a previous joint international investigation led by experts from the Netherlands, which had concluded that the airliner was shot down by a surface-to-air missile launched from pro-Russian separatist-controlled territory in Eastern Ukraine.

Russian authorities have repeatedly denied any involvement in the attack and said they would ignore the verdict.

Asked about the judgment before the rulings were read, Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, said: “We won’t abide by it, we consider it void,” according to the Guardian.

Azerbaijani plane downing, too

Recently, an Azerbaijani news site has released explosive new material, claiming the Russian military authorised the 2024 missile strike on Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243, a tragedy that left 38 people dead and 29 injured, as reported by viraltrendingcontent recently.

Minval reported that it received an anonymous message, accompanied by audio clips and technical data, which traces the incident back to Captain Dmitry Sergeyevich Paladichuk—a Russian air-defence officer allegedly acting under direct orders from Moscow’s Ministry of Defence. On December 26th, 2024, Reuters had reported that four sources with knowledge of the preliminary investigation had confirmed that Russian air defences were responsible for downing the Azerbaijan plane.

Two days after the incident, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued an apology, calling the crash a “tragic incident,” but did not accept responsibility for attacking the aeroplane, as reported also by viraltrendingcontent.