On the fifth anniversary of the downing of flight PS752 by Iranian military forces, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reminded that Iran has grossly violated a number of international law norms.
The ministry recalled that five years ago, Iran killed 176 people aboard the PS752 flight of Ukraine International Airlines in Iranian airspace. Members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired two surface-to-air missiles at the civilian aircraft in flight.
"Iran has grossly violated a whole range of international law norms: it used weapons against a civilian aircraft in flight, failed to take all necessary measures to prevent the downing, and did not ensure either a transparent and objective investigation into the circumstances of the disaster or proper judicial prosecution of the accused," the Foreign Ministry stated.
The Ministry noted that it has not ceased efforts to achieve justice and hold those responsible accountable. A year ago, an International Coordination Group for the Victims of Flight PS752, consisting of Ukraine, Canada, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, initiated proceedings within the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) against Iran for its violations of the 1944 Convention on International Civil Aviation (the Chicago Convention).
"Today, Iran continues to affirm its status as a killer by providing military and political support to the Russian Federation in its armed aggression against Ukraine, while the deepening cooperation between the regimes in Moscow and Tehran poses a direct threat to Europe and the Middle East. Impunity for past crimes drives Iran and Russia to commit new violations of international law," the Foreign Ministry declared.
The disaster of the UIA flight in Iran
On the morning of January 8, 2020, it became known that flight PS752 of the Ukrainian airline UIA was shot down in Iranian airspace shortly after departing from Tehran.
The aircraft was struck by two Iranian missiles. The disaster claimed the lives of 167 passengers and 9 crew members, including citizens of Ukraine.