A United Nations (U.N.) agency ruled Monday that Russia was responsible for shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in July 2014 over Ukraine.
There were 298 people on board the plane at the time and none of them survived, the New York Post reported on Tuesday.
“Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was struck by a Russian-made missile while flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur as Russian separatists battled Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region below,” the Post article said.
In a news release on Monday, the U.N. agency known as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) said:
The Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) today voted that the Russian Federation failed to uphold its obligations under international air law in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.
…
The Council agreed that the claims brought by Australia and the Netherlands as a result of the shooting down of Flight MH17 on 17 July 2014, were well founded in fact and in law. The case centered on allegations that the conduct of the Russian Federation in the downing of the aircraft by a surface-to-air missile over eastern Ukraine constitutes a breach of Article 3 bis of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, which requires that States “refrain from resorting to the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight.”
Those who lost their lives in the tragedy included 196 people from the Netherlands, 38 from Australia, along with British, Belgian, and Malaysian nationals.
Video footage shows the Malaysia Airlines plane’s path, what happened when the missile struck, and the aftermath, per Sky News. The outlet said investigators believe passengers were exposed to abrupt deceleration and acceleration, decompression, a decrease in oxygen levels, extreme cold, strong airflow, the plane’s rapid descent, objects flying around.
“It’s likely that the occupants were barely able to comprehend the situation in which they found themselves,” the outlet said.
When asked in 2014 if he blamed anyone for what happened, the father of one victim said, “Yes, the man who hits the button to start the rocket to blow up the airplane.”
“If I get him, I could kill him,” he told CNN.
The Post article said Russia has denied responsibility for the tragic incident. The outlet added: “The ruling, which raises the possibility of victims’ families being paid compensation, represents the first time in the history of the ICAO that a dispute between governments has been decided.”
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