Malaysia Airlines MH17 was shot down over Ukraine in 2014, killing 298 people on board, including 38 Australians. It has been eight years since the downed plane case, but there has still been no ruling against the country responsible.
Although Australia and the Netherlands have been asking the Russian team to compensate and apologize for the downing of MH17 over the years, Russia has denied any involvement and unilaterally withdrew from negotiations with both countries in October 2020.
A few days ago, Australia and the Netherlands finally, through the United Nations under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, took legal action against Russia!
According to reports, taking legal action will force Russia back to the negotiating table and may also result in Russia being punished by ICAO.
Not only that, but the two countries also presented evidence that the missile system that shot down MH17 belonged to Russia’s 53rd Anti-Carrier Military Brigade and was accompanied by trained Russian military personnel, so only trained Russian military personnel, or those acting under their direction, command or control, could have fired the missile system.
At a press conference in Sydney, Payne told reporters that they have not seen any effort or good faith from Russia to hold peace talks. If Russia is ready to return to the negotiating table, Australia will consider withdrawing this action.
Finally, Payne said that while they could not remove the grief of those whose loved ones were killed by Russia’s actions, the Australian government would pursue all available avenues to ensure that Russia was held accountable.
