The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has accepted for consideration the lawsuit of Petro Poroshenko, who is challenging the imposition of illegal sanctions. This was announced during a briefing by the lawyer of the fifth President, Ilya Novikov. On the eve of the Supreme Court hearing on April 3, where a decision on Petro Poroshenko’s lawsuit is to be announced, the lawyers also warn the authorities against pressuring the judges.
“The European Court of Human Rights has opened proceedings specifically concerning this case. The main lawsuit to declare the sanctions illegal has not yet been considered by the Supreme Court of Ukraine, but the case as a whole—since it also concerns our observation brought before the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court regarding whether it is a normal situation when the effect of a sanctions decree cannot be suspended. We were told no, presidential decrees are not suspended at all. Currently, the ECHR, in a very unusual manner—because usually such cases are not considered at this stage—has opened proceedings, of which it notified Petro Poroshenko’s representatives,” Novikov noted.
“This means that this case as a whole is already under consideration by the ECHR, which signifies increased attention to our situation,” the lawyer emphasized.
As is known, Petro Poroshenko is challenging Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s decree on illegal sanctions in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court also added the ECHR decision of October 16, 2025, to the case materials. The European Court of Human Rights concluded that there are systemic problems in the Ukrainian sanctions system, particularly the lack of proper judicial control over the authorities’ sanctions decisions and the justification for imposing sanctions, even in wartime conditions and under the slogan of national security.
Previously, President Zelenskyy’s representative in the Supreme Court admitted that changes, which she called “technical edits,” were made to the signed Decree enacting the NSDC decision on sanctions against Poroshenko. Government representatives also stated that the sanctions against Poroshenko were introduced preventively, “for educational purposes.”
On July 31, a decision of the Vinnytsia District Administrative Court came into force following Petro Poroshenko’s lawsuit against the NSDC staff and the NSDC Secretary. The court noted that the current legislation of Ukraine does not provide for the possibility of correcting errors or making changes to regulatory legal acts, including decisions of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine and Presidential Decrees, outside the established procedure for adopting the relevant act.
President Zelenskyy’s representative also previously confirmed during a hearing that the National Bank of Ukraine had illegally introduced financial restrictions against Petro Poroshenko.