European Court rules Russia responsible for shooting down Flight MH17 in 2014

Australian and Dutch investigators examine a piece of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 plane, near the village of Hrabove, in eastern Ukraine (AP Photo)

Europe’s top human rights court has ruled that Russia was behind the downing of Flight MH17 – the first time Moscow has been named by an international court as being responsible for the 2014 tragedy that claimed 298 lives.

In a separate ruling on Wednesday, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found that Russia violated international law during the conflict in Ukraine, the first time an international court has found Moscow responsible for human rights abuses since the full-scale invasion in 2022.