On March 17th, the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran released the final report on the crash of a Ukrainian passenger plane in January 2020. The document states that the plane was shot down after it had been identified as a hostile target due to a mistake by the air defence operator.
While Iran termed it “human error," calls have been growing internationally for legal action against those directly responsible for the incident. Ukraine has demanded life sentences for those involved, terming it a “maximum punishment."
It was Canada earlier to speak against the report, and now it's Ukraine , they say , the report is hiding the truth and justice must prevail.
Canadian authorities alleged that Iran has not disclosed all relevant evidence or provided satisfactory answers to a number of lingering questions, including the identities of those held responsible for the downing, the exact chain of events that led the Revolutionary Guard to open fire and the decision to leave Iranian airspace open to civilian traffic the same night that Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles at U.S. forces in Iraq.
The State Aviation Administration of Ukraine released its remarks to the draft final report prepared by the Civil Aviation Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran based on the results of the investigation into the UIA plane crash over Tehran.
Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Vladyslav Kryklii announced this during a meeting with Minister of Transport of Canada Omar Alghabra, representatives of Canada are aware of this.
Kryklii asks for re-investigation of the crash with foreign representatives involved in that,
"Ukraine seeks truth and justice in the investigation into the crash of Flight PS752 and punishment of the perpetrators. We are currently working on the proper response of the Ukrainian side to numerous violations of international law during the investigation into the downing of Flight PS752. We support the involvement of foreign representatives, including representatives of Canada, in the relevant process and joint preparation and submission of a complaint about the relevant actions of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the ICAO Council," Kryklii said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called Iran's report an attempt to hide the true causes of the crash, and his deputy, Yevheniy Yenin, said that Ukraine would demand that Iran's report on the UIA plane crash must be considered by the ICAO Council and that the Iranian side resume and continue its technical investigation.
► 8th January 2020: Ukraine International Airlines aircraft (Flight PS752) from Tehran to Kyiv crashed shortly after taking off from the Imam Khomeini International Airport.
There were 176 people on board – nine crew members (all Ukrainians) and 167 passengers (citizens of Ukraine, Iran, Canada, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany, and the UK).
► 11th January 2020: Iran admitted that its military had accidentally shot down the Ukrainian passenger jet. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) accepted full responsibility for the downing of the Ukrainian airliner.
► 30th Dec 2020 : Iran announced compensation of $150,000 for each victim of the UIA crash.
► 20th February 2021: Iran announced the completion of the investigation into this case.
Picture - The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.
