European Court Blames Russia for Executions, Torture, and Looting in Ukraine

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Wednesday that Russia is responsible for a series of grave human rights violations—including executions, torture, forced labor, and looting—committed in Ukraine during periods of Russian or separatist control.

The court found Russia liable for abuses not only within its own borders but also in parts of Ukraine under separatist authority from January 26 to September 16, 2022, when Russia withdrew from the ECHR’s jurisdiction. Russia’s jurisdiction over these areas was previously established for the period between May 11, 2014, and January 26, 2022.

Documented violations include:

• Extrajudicial executions of civilians and Ukrainian soldiers off the battlefield

• Torture, inhumane treatment, and forced labor

• Arbitrary detention of civilians

• Forced displacement and filtration of residents

• Persecution of religious groups outside the Russian Orthodox Church

• Restrictions on freedom of information and peaceful assembly

• Widespread property destruction, looting, and expropriation

• Suppression of the Ukrainian language and politicization of education

• Deportation and illegal adoption of Ukrainian children in Russia

• Discrimination based on political views and ethnicity

• Denial of effective legal remedies

  
  

The ruling cites specific incidents, including the July 1, 2014, abduction and extortion of a local businessman by armed men in Donetsk, and multiple cases of residential buildings and businesses being destroyed with tanks, explosives, and rocket-propelled grenades.

The court ordered Russia to immediately release or ensure the safe return of all individuals unlawfully detained as of September 16, 2022.

Russia is also expected to cooperate with international mechanisms to identify and reunite Ukrainian children taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territories before that date.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded that Russia does not recognize the ECHR’s verdicts and will not comply with them, calling the rulings "null and void."