Ukraine accuses Russia of 'targeted assassination', files case at European court

Ukraine recently accused Russia of the “targeted assassination” of “perceived opponents” in a case filed at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). According to the case, published on the court’s website, Ukraine accuses Moscow of carrying out assassinations in Russia and on the territory of other states, in what Kyiv says is a violation of the “right to life” as stipulated in Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Ukraine also alleged that Russia’s failure to investigate such alleged assassinations amounts to “an administrative practice” that is also sustained through “deliberately mounting cover-up operations aimed at frustrating efforts to find the persons responsible”. It is worth noting that this is the ninth case taken by Ukraine against Russia at the ECHR, which hears complaints about alleged breaches of the convention on human rights. 

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Four cases are still pending and refer to the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in July 2014, human rights violations in the Crimea peninsula and Russia’s seizure of three Ukrainian Navy vessels in the Kerch Strait in 2018. According to local European media outlets, the case on the human rights violations in Crimea was declared partly admissible by the Grand Chamber of the Court on January 14. A judgement on the case will be delivered at a later date and the other three cases will be reviewed by the branches of the court sometime later. 

Ukraine-Russia conflict 

Meanwhile, Russia has been supporting separatists who are fighting Ukrainian government forces in eastern Ukraine in a conflict that has claimed more than 13,000 people since April 2014. The Ukrainian military had reported intensive movement of troops and equipment from Russia into the separatist-controlled parts of eastern Ukraine. The Associated Press reported 80 unmarked military vehicles on the move in rebel-controlled areas. The majority of members of the international community and organizations such as Amnesty International have condemned Russia for its actions in post-revolutionary Ukraine, accusing it of breaking international law and violating Ukrainian sovereignty. Many countries even implemented economic sanctions against Russia, Russian individuals or companies, to which Russia responded in kind. 

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