The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled on the case of the occupation of Donbas and will announce it on January 25.

"We open (traditionally) the new year at the ECtHR... with a decision on the admissibility of the interstate case "Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia," Marharita Sokorenko, ECHR Commissioner, said on her Facebook page.

According to her, on January 25, 2023, the ECtHR will publicly announce a decision in the so-called Donbas case - the first case on the seizure of eastern Ukraine in 2014 when Russia launched war against Ukraine from Crimea and Donbas.

The court's recognition of the case's admissibility will mean that it recognises Russia's control over Donbas and determines the temporal and territorial limits of the occupation. This ECtHR decision will become an argument for other trials.

The case "Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia," according to applications No. 8019/16, 43800/14, 28525/20, concerns the administrative practice of violations of human rights by Russia in the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions since 2014, including the downing of the Malaysian Boeing MH17 in 2014, Sokorenko recalled.

She emphasises as a lawyer who has been handling this case since 2014 and knows how much effort has been put in, she can claim that the ECtHR will proceed on the merits of the case.

"This will be another international legal nail in the coffin of the Russian invaders. This is only the beginning of the year," Sokorenko noted.

The Ukrainian side proves at the ECtHR in the case "Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia" that the occupation of Donbas began in April 2014.