The case concerned a Russian-speaking citizen of Ukraine, who supported politically the pro-Russian side, and left the country after 2014 for fear of persecution by the new government due to his political ideology. His application for international protection was rejected as manifestly unfounded as Ukraine was considered as a safe country of origin, with the exception of the Crimean peninsula and parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The applicant had not demonstrated that Ukraine could not be considered a safe country of origin in his case. The Regional Court upheld the decision in December 2021. The applicant appealed the decision pointing at the increasing tensions on the Ukrainian-Russian border and at the possible persecution of Russian supporters, arguing that Ukraine is not a safe country of origin for them.

Since the time of the decision in December 2021, the situation in Ukraine and in particular in Kiev, where the applicant is from, has escalated into a conflict. The Supreme Administrative Court is normally tasked to review decisions taken by an administrative authority on the basis of the factual and legal situation that existed at the time of the decision of the administrative authority, and should not take into account new facts. However, the Supreme Administrative Court pointed in this case to the unprecedented nature of the current situation in Ukraine and the emergency measures being taken at both national and European level to meet the mass influx of displaced persons from Ukraine.

The Court noted that the decision of the regional court in December 2021 only took into account the fact that Ukraine was considered a safe country and did not consider the claim in more detail. However, this has changed from the 24th of February 2022 as Section 2 of Decree No 328/2015 on safe countries of origin can no longer be applied to Ukraine. Therefore, the Court annulled the decision of the Regional Court and ruled that a full examination of the applicant’s claim should be carried out. In case the grounds for international protection are not considered well-founded, the Regional Court should then consider other forms of protection for the applicant which are being considered for other Ukrainian citizens.