Russia Responsible for MH17 Crash in 2014, Says UN Aviation Agency

Russia Responsible for MH17 Crash in 2014: The International Civil Aviation Organisation has stated it is Russia's fault for downing a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine in 2014, killing 298 passengers and crew.

The jet downed was carrying 38 Australian citizens and 196 Dutch citizens, and the two countries have urged Russia to be held responsible for the incident and for reparations, but to date Russia continues to deny responsibility for the downing of the plane.

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On Monday, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) stated the claims of Australia and the Netherlands regarding the downing of flight MH17 were "well-founded in fact and in law".

“The Russian Federation failed to uphold its obligations under international air law in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17,” the agency said in a statement.

International air law distinguishes between military and civil or commercial aircraft during a time of war.

The ICAO does not have regulatory authority but can exert moral pressure, and the ICAO sets worldwide aviation standards that are accepted by its 193 member states.

Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp, in a statement, said the ICAO ruling in the case launched in 2022 was an "important step in establishing the truth and achieving justice".

“This decision also sends a clear message to the international community: States cannot violate international law with impunity,” he said.

“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,” Wong said in a statement.

Foreign Minister of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha, also welcomed the decision and stated that the ruling was another step towards "restoring justice for this crime".

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“No matter how much money and effort Russia put into lying to conceal its crimes, the truth wins out, and justice prevails,” Sybiha wrote on X.

On July 17, 2014, a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was hit by a Russian-made BUK surface-to-air missile while flying over Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists were fighting Ukrainian troops at the time.

At the time, and in the hours and days that followed, separatists in the area even claimed the airliner had been shot down by a Ukrainian military jet, while Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of being "responsible" for the deaths of the passengers.

In 2022, a Dutch court convicted three men of the downing of the plane to life sentences, including two Russians, who Moscow declined to extradite.

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