The Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has officially recognized Russia as responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, which occurred in July 2014 over the Donbas region.
The Boeing aircraft, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down by a missile launched from a Russian Buk missile system, resulting in the deaths of 298 people. This was stated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, BBC’s Russian Service reports.
ICAO reportedly accused Russia of violating the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.
“Today’s decision by the ICAO Council on the MH17 case is another step in the process of holding Russia accountable,” said Yuliya Kovaliv, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Canada, who also represents Ukraine at ICAO.
Meduza reports that the issue of compensation for the victims will be addressed at a later stage.
During the investigation, the Joint International Investigative Team established that the plane was shot down by a missile from a Russian Buk missile system.
In 2022, a court in The Hague found three individuals guilty of the crash and sentenced them to life imprisonment, including Igor Strelkov, the former “defense minister” of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR).
Russia has repeatedly changed its version of the events related to the crash and, after the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine, adopted a law that exempts it from implementing European Court of Human Rights rulings issued after March 15, 2022.
The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was downed over Donbas in July 2014, killing all 298 people on board.
This tragedy remains one of the ten deadliest aviation disasters in history.
