Russia found guilty of shooting down Malaysian Boeing MH17

The Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) at the UN has ruled that Russia is responsible for the downing of Malaysian Boeing flight MH17 in the skies over the Donetsk region on July 17, 2014. This was announced by the government of the Netherlands – this country, together with Australia, filed a lawsuit against Moscow with the ICAO in 2022.

Dutch Foreign Minister Kaspar Veldkamp said the decision was "a clear signal to the international community that states cannot violate international law without consequences."

ICAO found Russia guilty of violating the Chicago Convention, which prohibits the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight.

The vast majority of the members of the Organization's Council supported the position of the Netherlands and Australia.

In the coming weeks, the body will consider the form in which Moscow will provide compensation. The Netherlands and Australia have asked the Council to oblige Russia to enter into negotiations with them, and the ICAO governing body to facilitate this process.

The latter is important to ensure that the negotiations are conducted in good faith and in accordance with specific deadlines, and that they produce real results, the Dutch government notes.

• On July 17, 2014, a Boeing 777 flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down over the terrorist-controlled territory of Donbas: all 298 people on board were killed.
• The investigation concluded that the airliner was shot down by a Buk missile from the 53rd brigade of the Russian army. In the summer of 2019, the names of those who, according to the investigation, were involved in the tragedy were made public: Russians Igor (Strelkov) Girkin, Sergey Dubinsky, Oleg Pulatov, and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko.