EU calls on Russia to admit responsibility for downing MH17 flight
Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has taken Russia to task for the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over the Donetsk province of Ukraine on July 17, 2014, Deutsche Welle reports.
She recalled that in its “independent, professional and unbiased investigation”, the Joint Investigative Team (JIT) reached the conclusion that the Buk missile system which was used to shoot down flight MH17 undoubtedly belonged to the Russian Armed Forces.
“Against this backdrop, we will continue to call on the Russian Federation to admit its responsibility and to fully contribute by all means to bring the guilty to justice,” Mogherini said.
On this fourth anniversary of the MH17 catastrophe, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt also urged the Russian authorities to admit responsibility for the tragedy.
“Thanks to the painstaking work of the Joint Investigation Team over the past 4 years, we now know that MH17 was shot down by a Russian Buk-type missile, belonging to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Military Brigade of the Russian army which was launched from an area held by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. This is another example of the Russian Federation's disregard for human life and the rules based international system and Russia must answer for its actions,” Hunt said.
Hunt noted that the UK completely supports Australia and the Netherlands in urging Moscow to accept responsibility for the tragedy, and to join their efforts to seek justice for the tragedy victims.
Having stressed that London will continue to support the JIT’s work, Hunt urged Russia to “fully collaborate with the investigation and offer any support required in accordance with resolution 2166 of the UN Security Council”.
The air disaster took place on July 17, 2014, in Ukraine’s Donetsk province, killing all 298 people on board. 10 nationalities were present on the flight, but the majority (196) were Dutch citizens.
Western countries and Ukraine believe that the plane was shot down by pro-Russian separatists. The international committee investigating the crash concluded that the plane had been shot down by a 9M38M1 missile from a Buk installation with a 9H314M warhead.