Russia refuses to comply with ECHR ruling on deported children and MH17 flight — conclusions of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers

The Russian Federation is not implementing the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the case “Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia,” adopted on 9 July 2025. In that ruling the Court found Russia responsible for numerous human-rights violations during the war before and after 24 February 2022 — including the downing of flight Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17. This is stated in the summary of the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, devoted to monitoring compliance with the ECHR decision, FREEДОМ reports.

According to the summary, Russia ceased to respond to ECHR judgments after its expulsion from the Council of Europe in 2022 because of its aggression against Ukraine. The Russian Federation adopted a law allowing it to ignore decisions of Council of Europe institutions issued after 16 March 2022 — even though the ECHR continues to consider cases concerning violations committed before that date

The summary emphasizes that despite its expulsion, the Russian Federation remains bound by its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, including the obligation to enforce ECHR judgments.

It is highlighted that Russian authorities have cut off all communication with the Committee of Ministers on the issue of implementing the decisions and have not submitted any action plan in response to the 9 July 2025 ruling in “Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia.”

In this case, four interstate complaints against Russia by Ukraine and the Netherlands had been consolidated:

• Netherlands v. Russia (No. 28525/20) — concerning the downing of civil flight MH17 on 17 July 2014 over the occupied part of Donetsk region, in which all 298 people on board perished;
• Ukraine v. Russia (No. 8019/16) — abuses during the armed conflict in Donbas, including the MH17 downing, torture, forced labour, etc.;
• Ukraine v. Russia (No. 43800/14) — kidnapping and illegal transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia in 2014;
• Ukraine v. Russia (No. 11055/22) — gross human-rights violations during Russia’s full-scale invasion from 24 February 2022.

The ECHR found the Russian Federation responsible for serious and systematic violations of human rights in the context of aggression against Ukraine since 2014 and after the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

According to the Court decision regarding unlawful detention of Ukrainians and deportation of Ukrainian children, Russian authorities were required without delay to:

• release or return all persons deprived of liberty on Ukrainian territory occupied by Russian forces;
• cooperate in establishing an international mechanism to identify all children transferred from Ukraine to Russia or Russian-controlled territories before 16 September 2022, to restore contact between these children and their surviving family members or legal guardians, and to safely reunite children with their families or legal guardians.

Russia failed to fulfill these requirements. Consequently, the Committee of Ministers once again condemned the systematic practice of illegal transfer of children to Russia, and in many cases — their adoption there. The Committee also:

• called on Russian authorities to repeal all domestic laws and practices facilitating such adoptions and the imposition of Russian citizenship on children born in occupied territories;
• urged Russia to provide a list of names and whereabouts of children illegally deported from Ukraine;
• instructed the Secretariat to prepare an analysis of the current situation, explore all possibilities for establishing an international mechanism to identify all children forcibly moved to Russia or Russian-controlled territories before 16 September 2022, restore contact between these children and surviving family members, and ensure their safe reunification — and emphasized that Russia must cooperate with this process.

In its review, the Committee of Ministers also examined the conduct of Russian agents in occupied Ukrainian territories and ultimately:

• condemned the gross violations of international humanitarian law;
• expressed outrage at acts of violence, including widespread and systematic use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war against civilians and non-combatants, as well as numerous flagrant and unprecedented violations of the Convention identified by the Court;
• reaffirmed that protections provided by human-rights conventions do not cease even in times of armed conflict;
• urged Russia to honor its international legal obligations and to immediately halt all widespread and systematic administrative practices found to violate the Convention;
• demanded that Russian authorities release or safely return to Ukrainian jurisdiction all individuals detained in occupied or Russian-controlled territory before 16 September 2022.

The ECHR judgment also included provisions relating to the downing of civilian flight MH17 on 17 July 2014 — all 298 passengers aboard perished.

The Committee of Ministers stressed that the situation is aggravated by Russia’s denial and obstruction of efforts to investigate the MH17 downing. They called for public apologies from Russian authorities, recognition of responsibility for the deaths of all 298 people on board, and full cooperation with the investigative group — including providing all evidence in their possession to clarify remaining unresolved facts.

Russia remains obliged to cooperate effectively with the investigative team, and the Committee urges the Russian authorities to provide full and truthful explanations regarding their role in the downing of flight MH17, as well as to hand over all evidence in their possession that could help clarify the remaining unresolved facts,” the meeting summary states.

The participants also examined the issue of Russia’s unlawful military attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine during hostilities. In this regard, the Committee:

• condemned Russia’s complete disregard for the lives and wellbeing of civilians subjected to intense shelling and siege;
• called on Russian authorities to refrain from any military attacks on civilians and civilian objects, including residential buildings, ambulances, schools, and hospitals;
• stressed the urgent need to ensure the immediate safety of medical facilities, medical personnel, and ambulance vehicles;
• urged Russia to guarantee unimpeded civilian access to safe evacuation routes, medical care, food, and other basic necessities;
• called for rapid and unhindered passage of humanitarian aid and the movement of humanitarian workers.

In addition, the Committee urged the Russian authorities to fully participate in and cooperate with any investigations into these attacks, including those carried out by international bodies.

Read also: The ECHR found Russia responsible for human-rights violations in the occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions — Rashevska

You can help bring home underage Ukrainian citizens. If you live in Belarus, Russia, or in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories and have information about deported children, please write to the “Ya Tut” Telegram channel or to the FREEДОМ website. Kyiv guarantees anonymity.

As a reminder, the FREEДОМ TV channel, in partnership with the Adviser-Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children’s Rights and Child Rehabilitation and with Ukraine’s Juvenile Police, has launched the information campaign “If You Know — Speak Up!” Its goal is to motivate residents of Russia to oppose the forced deportation of Ukrainian children and to help return them to Ukraine.