On 9 July 2025 the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held that Russia is responsible for the downing of flight MH17 and for the deaths of everyone on board, including 196 Dutch nationals. Russia is also responsible for the additional suffering caused to the next of kin, owing to its continued denial of any involvement and its obstruction of the investigations into the downing of the aircraft. The judgment is an important step on the road to justice.
ECtHR and flight MH17
In 2020 the Netherlands submitted an inter-State application to the ECtHR regarding Russia’s responsibility for the downing of flight MH17 on 17 July 2014 over eastern Ukraine. All 298 people on board were killed, including 196 Dutch nationals.
The ECtHR’s judgment
This is the second time in a short period that it has been established at international level that Russia violated international law when it downed flight MH17. The ECtHR ruled in the Netherlands’ favour in regard to Russia’s violation of four human rights, as laid down in the European Convention on Human Rights:
Russia is responsible for the downing of flight MH17 and the deaths of everyone on board (Article 2, right to life, substantive).
Russia did not perform an adequate investigation of its own, and did not cooperate sufficiently with requests for information submitted by the Netherlands and the Joint Investigation Team (Article 2, right to life, procedural).
Russia’s lack of cooperation and continued denial of any involvement in the downing of flight MH17 caused the next of kin additional suffering (Article 3, prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment).
Russia did not provide the next of kin with any legal remedy (Article 13, right to an effective remedy).
Minister of Foreign Affairs Caspar Veldkamp: ‘The judgment of the European Court of Human Rights is crystal clear: Russia is responsible for the downing of flight MH17 and for the deaths of everyone on board, including 196 Dutch nationals. This confirms what we have known and felt all along, and is an important step on the road to justice.
Russia is also responsible for additional suffering caused to the next of kin, due to its continued denial of any involvement and lack of cooperation. Nothing can take away the grief and suffering, but I hope that this outcome brings a sense of justice and acknowledgement.’
Next steps
Up until now, the proceedings before the ECtHR have been focused on establishing the human rights violations concerned. Now that these have been established, the ECtHR can determine the consequences of the violations and the damages payable. Throughout this process, the Netherlands will remain in close contact with the next of kin about potential damages.
 held that Russia is responsible for the downing of flight MH17 and for the deaths of everyone on board, including 196 Dutch nationals. Russia is also responsible for the additional suffering caused to the next of kin, owing to its continued denial of any involvement and its obstruction of the investigations into the downing of the aircraft. The judgment is an important step on the road to justice.){kind=link}