Russia DID down Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine killing 298 passengers and crew in 2014 atrocity, UN aviation body rules

The UN's aviation assembly connected Monday ruled that Russia was liable for the downing of a Malaysian airliner implicit Ukraine that killed each 298 passengers and crew, including 196 Dutch citizens and 38 Australian citizens oregon residents, the Dutch and Australian governments said successful abstracted statements.

Both governments said the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) would successful the coming weeks see what signifier of reparation was successful order. 

Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam for Kuala Lumpur connected July 17, 2014, and was changeable down implicit eastbound Ukraine arsenic warring raged betwixt pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces.

In November 2022, Dutch judges convicted 2 Russian men and a Ukrainian antheral successful absentia of execution for their relation successful the attack. 

Moscow called the ruling 'scandalous' and said it would not extradite its citizens.

The ICAO, which is based successful Montreal, did not instantly respond to a petition for comment. The lawsuit was launched successful 2022 by Australia and the Netherlands.

'The determination is an important measurement towards establishing the information and achieving justness and accountability for each victims of Flight MH17, and their families and loved ones,' Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said successful a statement. 

'This determination besides sends a wide connection to the planetary community: states cannot interruption planetary instrumentality with impunity.'

The Netherlands and Australia privation the ICAO Council to bid Russia to participate into negotiations implicit reparations, helium added.

Australia Foreign Minister Penny Wong said her authorities welcomed the determination and urged ICAO to determination swiftly to find remedies.

'We telephone upon Russia to yet look up to its work for this horrific enactment of unit and marque reparations for its egregious conduct, arsenic required nether planetary law,' Wong said successful a statement.

ICAO lacks regulatory powerfulness but holds motivation suasion and sets planetary aviation standards overwhelmingly adopted by its 193-member states.

In 2023, three men progressive successful the downing of Malaysia Airlines formation MH17 were sanctioned by the Australian government. 

The sanctions people Russian Sergey Dubinskiy and Ukrainian nationalist Leonid Kharchenko, who were some recovered blameworthy successful the tribunal and sentenced to beingness successful jail.

Australia has besides sanctioned Russian nationalist Sergey Muchkaev, a colonel with the Russian Armed Forces.

Muchkaev successful July 2014 was the commandant of the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, which supplied the Buk-TELAR rocket strategy that downed MH17.

Another convicted perpetrator, Igor Girkin, was sanctioned by Australia successful 2014 for supporting separatist enactment successful eastbound Ukraine. 

'As either separatist leaders wrong the alleged 'People's Republic of Donetsk' astatine the clip of the downing of Flight MH17, oregon a subordinate of the Russian Armed Forces, the 3 radical sanctioned actively supported actions and policies that threatened the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,' Foreign Minister Penny Wong said.

'These sanctions show the Australian government's ongoing committedness to clasp to relationship those liable for the downing of formation MH17.'

She said Australia was committed to seeking 'truth, justness and accountability' for the victims and would prosecute each disposable avenues.