Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk commented on the landmark ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, which found that russia has been systematically and massively violating human rights in Ukraine — both in the temporarily occupied territories since 2014 and during the full-scale invasion.
«For the first time, an international court has outlined the broader context of russia’s war — an attempt to destroy Ukrainian statehood and undermine the very foundations of international law,» the Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament emphasized. He also noted that the ECHR directly held russia responsible for the downing of flight MH17.
In its ruling, the Court separately stated that the current regime in moscow is incompatible with the goals and principles of the Council of Europe and poses a threat not only to Ukraine, but to the entire global order based on respect for human rights and state sovereignty.
«This is yet another decision in a long list of verdicts by international institutions proving the obvious: russian aggression is a deliberate and systemic terror against the Ukrainian people,» Ruslan Stefanchuk stressed.
The Chairman also recalled that similar positions have been expressed by the UN General Assembly, the European Parliament, and the International Court of Justice. «And we expect the Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine to put the final stop in holding the russian leadership accountable,» he concluded.