On March 13, 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled [3] that Ukraine violated the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to prevent and effectively investigate violence erupted during the May 2, 2014 clashes in Odesa.

In April 2014, Ukrainian authorities received intelligence indicating a risk of violence, clashes, and disorder during the planned "For a United Ukraine" rally in Odesa. Despite these warnings, law enforcement deployed only limited police forces to key locations. On May 2, violent clashes broke out between pro-Russian activists and Maidan supporters, involving gunfire, stones, and Molotov cocktails. Video footage showed that police officers largely remained passive as the violence escalated. The situation worsened when a fire broke out at the Trade Union Building, killing at least 42 people. Despite multiple emergency calls, fire services arrived only later in the evening, raising concerns about the authorities' failure to ensure timely rescue efforts.

Twenty-eight individual applications were filed to the ECtHR, alleging that Ukraine failed to protect their lives and those of their relatives and did not conduct an effective investigation. The case concerned violations of Article 2 (Right to life), Article 3 (Prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment), and Article 13 (Right to an effective remedy).

The ECtHR unanimously found that Ukraine violated the right to life by failing to take reasonable steps to prevent the violence, stop the clashes, ensure the timely rescue of those trapped by the fire, and conduct an effective investigation. The Court emphasized that states have a duty to take reasonable measures to prevent foreseeable violence, ensure public safety, and conduct proper investigations.

The Court also condemned the authorities’ inadequate response after the clashes. It found that the authorities failed to secure, collect, and analyze key evidence; lacked transparency in the investigation; and did not identify all perpetrators, despite extensive photographic and video evidence. Although multiple sources captured footage of both the clashes and the Trade Union Building fire, the Court concluded that Ukrainian authorities had not demonstrated genuine efforts to ensure accountability within a reasonable timeframe.

Under Article 41 of the Convention, the Court ordered Ukraine to compensate the applicants in varying amounts.