The UN’s Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has ruled Russia was behind the MH17 tragedy in 2014, which resulted in the deaths of 298 people
Russia was behind the brutal downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 and the deaths of nearly 300 people, the UN has ruled.
The commercial Boeing 777 was shot out of the sky by a surface-to-air missile on July 17, 2014, as it flew over Ukrainian territory, killing all 298 passengers and crew , including 10 British nationals. At the time, the area was the scene of intense fighting between pro-Russian separatist and Ukrainian forces. The Kremlin has always denied any involvement in the catastrophe, but the UN’s Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has ruled this is not the case.
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It said in a ruling: “The ICAO today voted the Russian Federation failed to uphold its obligations under international air law in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17. This represents the first time in ICAO’s history its council has made a determination on the merits of a dispute between Member States under the Organisation’s dispute settlement mechanism.
“The Council agreed 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 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.’”
196 of those on board the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur were Dutch citizens, there were also 38 Australian citizens or residents. Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said in a statement: “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. This decision also sends a clear message to the international community: states cannot violate international law with impunity.”
He added that the Netherlands and Australia want the ICAO Council to order Russia to enter negotiations over repatriations. Australia Foreign Minister Penny Wong said her government welcomed the decision, urging the ICAO to move fast to determine remedies.
“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,” Ms Wong said in a statement. ICAO lacks regulatory power, but it holds moral suasion and sets standards for global aviation which are almost entirely adopted by the 193-member states.
In November 2022, two Russians and a Ukrainian were convicted of murder after downing the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 more than eight years prior. Another man was acquitted owing to lack of evidence. Moscow called the ruling “scandalous”, saying it would not extradite its citizens.
Victims’ representatives previously said the ruling was an important milestone, even though all suspects remain fugitives. The Dutch court handed down sentences of life imprisonment to Russian nationals Igor Girkin and Sergey Dubinsky, along with Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko.
A Dutch-led international Joint Investigation (JIT) team spent years collecting evidence before issuing arrest warrants for the four suspects. Flight MH17 had departed from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam and was destined for Kuala Lumpur when it was brought down, killing all on board.
An official report, released the year after the disaster, revealed the horrifying details of the final moments of those on board. Only the captain and two of the crew were killed instantly when the missile hit, just three feet from the cockpit.
Everyone else on board remained alive for 90 seconds before the plane exploded mid-air. Harrowingly, investigators even found one of the passengers wearing an oxygen mask amid the wreckage of the plane, meaning they had time to put it on before they were killed.