On the fourth anniversary of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, a civilian aircraft flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on 17 July 2014, the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) reiterates its call for the international community to hold accountable the Russian Federation for this horrific crime which took the lives of 298 crew and passengers.
The Joint Investigation Team, comprised of police and judicial representatives from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine, concluded on 24 May 2018 that the plane was downed by a Russian-made Buk missile, supplied by the country’s 53rd anti-aircraft brigade in Kursk. Specifically, the missile was brought to Ukraine from the Russian Federation, fired from territory controlled by the Russian Federation and Russian-backed terrorists, returned to Russian Federation territory on vehicles that were part of the Russian armed forces.
In a statement issued on 15 July 2018, G7 foreign ministers wrote:
“In a rules-based international order, those responsible for unacceptable actions, such as the firing or launching of the BUK missile of Russian origin, which intercepted and downed a civilian aircraft, must be held accountable. To this end, we call on Russia to immediately engage with Australia and the Netherlands in good faith to explain and to address all relevant questions regarding any potential breaches of international law.”
“The Ukrainian World Congress calls upon the international community to uphold the right of the victims’ families to truth and justice, and ensure that the Russian Federation is held accountable for its actions,” stated UWC President Eugene Czolij.
