Aviation Council Claims that Russia Shot Down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17

On May 12, more than a decade after the accident occurred, the UN's aviation council ruled that Russia was responsible for the deaths of all 298 passengers and crew on board Malaysian Airlines Flight 17. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will decide how the nation can right its wrongs.

"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," expressed Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp.

On July 17, 2014, Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 took off from Amsterdam with plans to land in Malaysia’s capital city, Kuala Lumpur. It was in cruise over a rural area in the Donetsk Oblast of Eastern Ukraine when a surface-to-air missile shot it down, killing 298 passengers and crew. This included 196 Dutch citizens and 38 Australian citizens.

Eastern Ukraine had been in the middle of a heavily armed conflict between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists at the time, posing a challenge as the investigation began. Malaysian authorities were unable to access the flight recorders until several days later, and victims weren’t flown out for more than a week. Crash wreckage was finally recovered in November.

Ukrainian authorities had reported downed military aircraft in the area just days before the crash, causing many to assume that the Russian separatists had misjudged the type and origin of the plane they had hit. However, there were no formal convictions until November 2022, when two Russians and one Ukrainian man were sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia for murder.

Now, the ICAO has issued a ruling that blames Russia for the deaths of the nearly 300 occupants on Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17. The organization may not hold enforcement power alone, but its decision carries a heavy weight for its 193 member states.

"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," stated Australia Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

FMI: www.icao.int