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The United Nations aviation council has ruled that Russia was responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in 2014. The shooting down of the plane, which was flying over eastern Ukraine, resulted in the deaths of all 298 passengers and crew that were on board.
ABC News reports the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) found Russia had violated the Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention, which requires that states “refrain from resorting to the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight.”
The ruling comes as a result of an investigation launched in 2022 by Australia and the Netherlands. 196 Dutch citizens and 28 Australian citizens were on board the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014.
While Russia has denied any involvement in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, the investigation concluded that it was downed by separatist rebels using a Buk missile system delivered from Russia.
“The Russian Federation failed to uphold its obligations under international air law in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17,” the ICAO stated.
Russia withdrew from negotiations with Australia and the Netherlands, who have been seeking an apology and some form of compensation, in 2020. The Russian government rejected the results of the investigation on Tuesday with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stating, “Russia did not take part in the investigation of this incident and therefore we will not accept these biased conclusions.”
In November 2022, Dutch judges convicted two Russian men and a Ukrainian man in absentia for their roles in the downing of the flight. Russia said it would not extradite them, calling the convictions “scandalous.”
“We call upon Russia to finally face up to its responsibility for this horrific act of violence and make reparations for its egregious conduct, as required under international law,” Australian foreign minister, Penny Wong, said in a statement.
“The decision is an important step towards establishing the truth and achieving justice and accountability for all victims of Flight MH17, and their families and loved ones,” said Dutch foreign minister, Caspar Veldkamp, in a statement. “This decision also sends a clear message to the international community: states cannot violate international law with impunity.”