The European Court of Human Rights on 9 July delivered landmark judgments that hold the Russian Federation responsible for the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 and for “widespread and flagrant” breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights during the conflict in Ukraine. In four consolidated cases brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands, the Strasbourg-based court unanimously concluded that Russian forces and affiliated separatists exercised effective control over eastern Ukraine from May 2014. It cited evidence of arbitrary killings, torture, forced labour, the deportation of Ukrainian children and other abuses both before and after Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Regarding MH17, the judges found that a Russian Buk surface-to-air system launched the missile that destroyed the Boeing 777 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 298 passengers and crew, among them 196 Dutch citizens. Russia’s refusal to cooperate with investigators and its failure to conduct a genuine inquiry were deemed additional violations that exacerbated families’ suffering. The rulings mark the first time an international tribunal has formally held Russia accountable for both the airliner disaster and systemic rights violations linked to the war. Financial compensation will be determined in a later phase. Although the Kremlin, which left the Council of Europe in 2022, dismissed the verdicts as void, the court affirmed jurisdiction over events up to 16 September 2022 and signalled more Ukraine-related cases are pending.