The United Nations aviation council ruled that Russia was responsible for the downing of a Malaysian Airlines flight which killed 289 people nearly 11 years ago.
The Boeing 777 aircraft was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur at an altitude of 33,000 feet on 17 July 2014 when it was allegedly shot down by a Russian surface-to-air missile over eastern Ukraine. Intense fighting was going on at the time between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces.
Flight MH17 crashed near the Ukrainian village of Hrabove, killing all 298 passengers and crew members on board. Among the victims were 196 Dutch citizens, 38 Australians, 10 Britons, as well as Belgians and Malaysians.
The Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation ruled on Monday that Russia “failed to uphold its obligations under international air law in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17”.
Agreeing with claims brought by Australia and the Netherlands that Russia shot down the passenger jet, the council said their accusations “were well founded in fact and in law”.
The council said that it would consider what form of reparation was in order as Russia continued to deny responsibility for the air disaster.
“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,” Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp said after Monday’s ruling. “This decision also sends a clear message to the international community: states cannot violate international law with impunity.”
The Netherlands and Australia now wanted the council to order Russia to start negotiations on reparations, Mr Veldkamp added.
Australian foreign minister Penny Wong demanded Russia “finally face up to its responsibility for this horrific act of violence and make reparations for its egregious conduct”.
In 2022, a Dutch court convicted two Russian men and a Ukrainian of murder in absentia for their alleged role in the crash. They were sentenced to life in prison, but Moscow called the ruling “scandalous” and said it would not extradite its citizens.
The Dutch government spent more than £158m dealing with the aftermath of the airliner’s downing from repatriating bodies of the victims to investigating and prosecuting those responsible.
In 2023, a team of investigators from the Netherlands, Australia, Ukraine, Malaysia and Belgium said there were “strong indications” that Russian president Vladimir Putin signed off on a decision to supply the missile that downed the aircraft.
