The United Nations aviation agency has rules that Russia was responsible for shooting down the Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014.
According to BBC, after a decade of investigation, the UN's Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) on Monday, May 12, 2025, ruled that Russia was responsible for the July 17, 2014, tragedy that killed all 289 people on board.
The agency stated, “The Russian Federation failed to uphold its obligations under international air law in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.” The international law requires states to "refrain from resorting to the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight."
It further added that the claims brought by the Netherlands and Australia, two countries with the most fatalities in the tragedy, about Russia for shooting down the plane were “well founded in fact and in law."
The passenger plane was shot down by a Russian-made missile. However, the Kremlin has always denied any responsibility for the air disaster.
Australian and Dutch governments react to verdict
The Australian and Dutch governments, who brought the case to the UN in 2022, welcomed the ICAO ruling.
Australia's foreign minister Penny Wong said, “We call upon Russia to finally face up to its responsibility for this horrific act of violence and make reparations for its egregious conduct.”
While the Dutch foreign minister, Caspar Veldkamp, asserted that the ruling marked an "important step towards establishing the truth and achieving justice and accountability," adding that the decision sends a clear message to the international community that "states cannot violate international law with impunity."
What happened to Malaysia Airlines flight MH17?
Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 flight MH17 was travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur in July 2014 when it was struck down over the Donbas region of Ukraine during a conflict between two countries.
The majority of the people and crew members, 196, were from the Netherlands; along with them, there were 38 people from Australia and 10 British citizens, along with Belgian and Malaysian nationals, on board.
