GENEVA
The UN civil aviation agency on Monday concluded that Russia violated international air law in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine, marking the first time the organization has ruled on the merits of a dispute between member states.
The UN’s Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization vote on Monday determined that the Russian Federation “failed to uphold its obligations under international air law” by using a weapon against a civilian aircraft in flight.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov shot back at the investigation’s findings, calling them “biased.”
“I will not comment on this. Our position is well known – Russia was not a party to the investigation, and therefore we do not accept its biased conclusions,” Peskov said.
According to Russian state news agency Tass, Russia last June ceased its participation in the UN council over the downing of MH17.
The decision stems from a case brought by Australia and the Netherlands, whose nationals made up the majority of the 298 people killed when the Boeing 777 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile on July 17, 2014, while en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
The council concluded that the two countries’ claims were “well founded in fact and in law,” following several sessions of written submissions and oral arguments.
Among the victims were 196 Dutch and 38 Australian citizens. Both governments have long pushed for Russia to accept responsibility and provide reparations, but Moscow has repeatedly denied any involvement.
In 2022, a Dutch court sentenced two Russians and a Ukrainian to life in prison over the incident, but none have served time as they were tried in absentia and have not been extradited.
April 2014 saw the start of a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine, adjacent to Russia, where there is a large ethnic Russian population.
