The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that the Ukrainian government is guilty of human rights violations related to the May 2, 2014, Odessa massacre, in which dozens of Russian-speaking demonstrators were forced into the city’s Trade Unions House and burned alive by ultranationalist mobs, The Gray Zone reported.

In its ruling, the court cited "the relevant authorities’ failure to do everything that could reasonably be expected of them to prevent the violence in Odessa," unanimously determining that Ukraine had violated Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to life.

The judges further condemned the Ukrainian government’s failure "to stop that violence after its outbreak, to ensure timely rescue measures for people trapped in the fire, and to institute and conduct an effective investigation into the events."

Wider context 

The blaze, which killed 42 people, marked a bloody conclusion to the so-called "Maidan revolution", which saw Ukraine’s democratically elected president ousted in a Western-backed coup in 2014.

Ukrainian officials and mainstream media outlets have long framed the deaths as a "tragic accident", with some even blaming anti-Maidan protesters for the fire. However, the court’s verdict discredits such claims, as the ruling was issued by a panel of seven judges, including one from Ukraine.

The ECHR found that fire engine deployment to the site was "deliberately delayed for 40 minutes," despite the local fire station being only a kilometer away.

The court also determined that nothing indicated Ukrainian authorities “had done everything that could reasonably be expected of them to avert” the violence.

It further criticized Kiev officials for making "no efforts whatsoever" to prevent the expected clashes between pro- and anti-Maidan activists, noting that their "negligence… went beyond an error of judgment or carelessness."

The case was brought forward by 25 individuals who lost family members in the attack and three survivors who suffered injuries. While the court ruled that Ukraine had violated their human rights, it only ordered the government to pay 15,000 euros to each plaintiff in compensation.

The court did not weigh in on whether the Odessa massacre was an intentional and premeditated act of mass murder orchestrated by Kiev’s US-installed far-right government. However, the ruling formally places responsibility for the atrocity on Ukrainian authorities.

Read more: Odessa Massacre investigator reveals real death toll a decade later