Ukraine's Foreign Ministry on the fifth anniversary of the MAU disaster: Impunity encourages Iran to commit further violations of the law.
This was stated in a release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, as reported by Ukrinform.
It is noted that on this day five years ago, the Islamic Republic of Iran killed 176 people on board flight PS752 of Ukraine International Airlines in Iranian airspace. Iran grossly violated numerous norms of international law: it used weapons against a civilian aircraft in flight, failed to take all necessary measures to prevent the downing, and did not ensure either a transparent and objective investigation into the circumstances of the disaster or adequate judicial prosecution of those responsible.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses its condolences to all the relatives and friends of those who perished on flight PS752 and assures that it will not cease efforts to achieve justice and hold the guilty accountable.
The ministry reminded that a year ago, the international group coordinating aid for victims, consisting of Ukraine, Canada, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, initiated proceedings within the ICAO Council against Iran for violating the 1944 Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention).
“This proceeding is ongoing, and the next steps by the Coordination Group to hold Iran accountable in the ICAO Council will be taken in the coming months,” the statement emphasized.
The Coordination Group also submitted a Memorandum in October 2024 as part of the case regarding the downing of PS752 to the International Court of Justice. Ukraine, Canada, Sweden, and the United Kingdom supported this main document in the case with irrefutable evidence of Iran's violations of the 1971 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation (Montreal Convention).
The ministry emphasized that today, Iran continues to confirm its status as a killer by providing military and political support to Russia in its armed aggression against Ukraine, and the deepening cooperation between the regimes in Moscow and Tehran poses a direct threat to Europe and the Middle East.
“Impunity for past crimes encourages Iran and Russia to commit new violations of international law. Therefore, achieving justice is of utmost importance,” noted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
Finally, Kyiv called on the international community to unite efforts for international peace and security, including the security of international civil aviation, to prevent such disasters in the future.
As reported, on January 8, 2020, a MAU aircraft was shot down in the sky over Iran while performing flight PS752 from Tehran to Kyiv. On board were citizens of Iran, Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan, and the United Kingdom.
All 176 people on board perished, including eleven Ukrainians (nine crew members and two passengers). After several days of denial, Iranian authorities admitted that the Ukrainian plane was mistakenly shot down by a surface-to-air missile from the air defense system.
President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded the title of Heroes of Ukraine with the Order of the Golden Star to the crew members of flight PS752 on December 29, 2020.