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3mo ago

UN Aviation Council Rules Russia Responsible for 2014 MH17 Downing

The ICAO's landmark decision paves the way for potential reparations as Australia and the Netherlands push for binding negotiations with Russia.

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(FILES) Rescuers stand on July 18, 2014 on the site of the crash of a Malaysian airliner carrying 298 people from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, near the town of Shaktarsk, in rebel-held east Ukraine. The United Nations aviation agency said on May 12, 2025 that Russia was responsible for the downing of a Malaysian Airways jetliner over Ukraine in 2014, with the death of 298 people. The International Civil Aviation Organization, based in Montreal, said claims brought by Australia and the Netherlands over the shooting down of Flight MH17 on July 17, 2014 were "well founded in fact and in law." (Photo by DOMINIQUE FAGET / AFP) (Photo by DOMINIQUE FAGET/AFP via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has ruled that Russia violated international air law by shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in 2014, killing all 298 people aboard.
  • The ICAO Council found Russia breached the Chicago Convention, specifically Article 3 bis, which prohibits the use of weapons against civilian aircraft in flight.
  • This marks the first time in ICAO's history that its council has made a determination on the merits of a dispute between member states.
  • Australia and the Netherlands, which lost 38 and 196 citizens respectively, are urging the ICAO to facilitate reparations negotiations with Russia under specific timelines.
  • Russia continues to deny involvement despite the ICAO ruling and previous Dutch court convictions of three individuals in absentia for their roles in the attack.