FIFTH SECTIONCASE OF KOVALENKO AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE(Applications nos. 22971/19 and 24 others –see appended list)      JUDGMENT STRASBOURG28 August 2025 This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.In the case of Kovalenko and Others v. Ukraine,The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of: Andreas Zünd, President, Diana Sârcu, Mykola Gnatovskyy, judges,and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,Having deliberated in private on 3 July 2025,Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:PROCEDURE1.  The case originated in applications against Ukraine lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) on the various dates indicated in the appended table.2.  The Ukrainian Government (“the Government”) were given notice of the applications.THE FACTS3.  The list of applicants and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.4.  The applicants complained of the life sentence with no prospect of release.THE LAWJOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS5.  Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 3 of the Convention6.  The applicants complained of the life sentence with no prospect of release. They relied, expressly or in substance, on Article 3 of the Convention.7.  The Court reiterates that the Convention does not prohibit the imposition of a life sentence on those convicted of especially serious crimes, such as murder. Yet to be compatible with Article 3 such a sentence must be reducible de jure and de facto, meaning that there must be both a prospect of release for the prisoner and a possibility of review. The basis of such review must extend to assessing whether there are legitimate penological grounds for the continuing incarceration of the prisoner. These grounds include punishment, deterrence, public protection and rehabilitation. The balance between them is not necessarily static and may shift in the course of a sentence, so that the primary justification for detention at the outset may not be so after a lengthy period of service of sentence. The importance of the ground of rehabilitation is underlined, since it is here that the emphasis of European penal policy now lies, as reflected in the practice of the Contracting States, in the relevant standards adopted by the Council of Europe, and in the relevant international materials (see Vinter and Others v. the United Kingdom [GC], nos. 66069/09 and 2 others, §§ 59-81, ECHR 2013 (extracts)).8.  In the leading case of Petukhov v. Ukraine (no. 2), (no. 41216/13, 12 March 2019), the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case. In the leading case of Medvid v. Ukraine (no. 7453/23, 10 October 2024), it further established that such a situation of uncertainty with a lack of any clear and realistic prospects of early release persisted until 3 March 2023 – the date on which the new release on parole mechanism became fully operational and offered the applicants the realistic opportunity to have their life sentences reviewed within the well‑defined timeframe and under clear conditions.9.  Having examined all the material submitted to it, the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion on the admissibility and merits of the complaints raised by the applicants in the case at hand. They are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 3 of the Convention from the respective dates of the applicants’ final sentencing to life imprisonment (see the appended table) to 3 March 2023. At the same time, the Court finds no violation of Article 3 of the Convention after that date.APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION10.  Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Petukhov (no. 2), cited above, § 201), the Court considers that the finding of a violation constitutes in itself sufficient just satisfaction for any non-pecuniary damage that may have been sustained by the applicants.FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,Decides to join the applications;Declares the applications admissible;Holds that there has been a violation of Article 3 of the Convention in respect of the periods of the applicants’ detention between their final sentencing to life imprisonment and 3 March 2023;Holds that there has been no violation of Article 3 of the Convention in respect of the period after 3 March 2023;Holds that the finding of a violation constitutes in itself sufficient just satisfaction for any non-pecuniary damage sustained by the applicants.Done in English, and notified in writing on 28 August 2025, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court. Viktoriya Maradudina Andreas Zünd Acting Deputy Registrar President   APPENDIXList of applications raising complaints under Article 3 of the Convention(life sentence with no prospect of release)No.Application no.Date of introductionApplicant’s nameYear of birthRepresentative’s name and locationName of the trial courtDate of the life sentenceJudicial decision upholding the conviction   22971/1903/04/2019Oleksandr Petrovych KOVALENKO1987 Kyiv Regional Court of Appeal,06/10/2008N/A   2875/2109/12/2020Maksym Pavlovych IVANOV1983 Kovpakivskyy Local Court of Sumy,18/12/2017Supreme Court of Ukraine,27/02/2020   38038/2120/10/2021Sergiy Oleksandrovych PANKIV1980 Zarichnyy District Court of Sumy,16/06/2020Supreme Court of Ukraine,21/04/2021   38194/2119/07/2021Volodymyr Volodymyrovych KYRYLENKO1979KychenokAndriy SergiyovychKyivKharkiv Regional Court,21/06/2001Supreme Court of Ukraine,15/01/2002   44826/2101/09/2021Artur Volodymyrovych OSOKIN1985Dolzhko Vladyslav VitaliyovychKharkivCourt of Appeal of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea,12/10/2009Supreme Court of Ukraine,11/03/2010   44830/2105/11/2021Valeriy Vladimirovich KOZACHENKO1978 Supreme Court of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea,22/03/2001Supreme Court of Ukraine, 24/05/2001    46178/2102/09/2021Anton Oleksandrovych LISOVYY1983DolzhkoVladyslav VitaliyovychKharkivCourt of Appeal of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea,18/04/2008Supreme Court of Ukraine, 24/07/2008   46359/2110/09/2021Yaroslav Petrovych GALANDZHOVSKYY1987KychenokAndriy SergiyovychKyivRivne Regional Court of Appeal,04/10/2010Supreme Court of Ukraine, 28/10/2010   49927/2130/09/2021Suleyman Seitovych SEYDAMETOV1968VoronyukKateryna YuriyivnaRivneCourt of Appeal of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea,30/11/2007Supreme Court of Ukraine,29/05/2008 57533/2108/11/2021Sergiy Anatoliyovych KIRYEYEV1969ZaporozhetsOles VolodymyrovychZaporizhzhyaZaporizhzhya Regional Court,05/02/1999Supreme Court,13/05/1999.Death penalty commuted to life sentence by decision of the Zaporizhzhya Regional Court,16/06/2000 58810/2123/11/2021Maksim Sergeyevich PRIDATKO1986 Donetsk Court of Appeal,01/04/2020Supreme Court of Ukraine,28/04/2021 58872/2107/04/2006Constantin Nikolayevich GEMU1973KalmykovTaras OleksandrovychKharkivOdesa Regional Court of Appeal,25/11/2005Supreme Court of Ukraine,16/05/2006 60258/2124/11/2021Oleg Mykolayovych GERASHCHENKO1971ZavgorodniyOleksandr SergiyovychDniproDnipropetrovsk Regional Court,12/02/1997Supreme Court of Ukraine,27/05/1997 225/2203/12/2021Sergiy Oleksandrovych TRUTEN1988 Oktyabrskyy District Court of Poltava,17/07/2017Poltava Court of Appeal, 23/07/2020Supreme Court of Ukraine, 11/05/2021 1938/2215/12/2021Oleksandr Ivanovych SEMENIKHIN1953 Court of Appeal of Dnipropetrovsk Region,17/12/2003Supreme Court of Ukraine,30/03/2004 2950/2205/01/2022Valeriy Stanislavovych MELNYKOV1967 Kyiv City Court of Appeal,25/01/2012Higher Specialised Civil and Criminal Court of Ukraine, 23/04/2013 6740/2226/01/2022Vasyl Fedorovych PASTUKH1982 Dnipropetrovsk Regional Court of Appeal,26/03/2003Supreme Court of Ukraine,08/07/2003 9944/2209/02/2022Andriy Stanislavovych NETYAGO1968 Dnipropetrovsk Regional Court of Appeal,14/05/2010Supreme Court of Ukraine,03/04/2011  25913/2206/05/2022Yevgen Oleksiyovych ZAKHAROV1974VoronyukKateryna YuriyivnaRivneShepetivka Town-District Court of Khmelnytskyy Region,05/05/2017Supreme Court of Ukraine, 03/09/2019 26620/2216/05/2022Valentyn Gennadiyovych ZEMTSOV2000 Amur-Nyzhnyodniprovskyy District Court of Dnipropetrovsk, 06/11/2019Dnipro Court of Appeal, 16/03/2021Supreme Court of Ukraine,02/11/2021 28074/2213/05/2022Sergiy Sergiyovych GUSHUVATYY1999IvanyukOleksandr OktavianovychChernivtsiKitsman Distrcit Court of Chernivtsi Region,21/12/2020Chernivtsi Court of Appeal of 30/03/2021, Supreme Court of Ukraine,16/11/2021 31387/2231/05/2022Vetcheslav Mykolayovych GOLOVKO1980TsyndraRoman AndriyovychDniproSaksahansk Regional Court of Kryviy Rig, 22/08/2017Dnipropetrovsk Court of Appeal,23/11/2017,Supreme Court,02/04/2019  50137/2212/10/2022Vitaliy Mykhaylovych PRASLOV1969 Zhovtnevyi District Court of Kryvyy Rih,14/05/2012High Specialised Court of Ukraine for Civil and Criminal Matters,02/04/2013 4416/2329/12/2022Romani Shotayevych KAKHIDZE1984TokarchukViktoriya VolodymyrivnaOdesaOdesa Court of Appeal,10/12/2021 Supreme Court of Ukraine,30/09/2022 5244/2329/12/2022Vyacheslav Mykolayovych KOVALENKO1980RybiySergiy MykolayovychDniproKyiv Court of Appeal,12/02/2004Supreme Court of Ukraine,06/05/2004