Australia on Thursday denounced Russian obstructions to the international investigation into the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 shot down over Ukraine in 2014, reiterating its determination to hold Moscow to account.
The investigative team announced on Wednesday that it was suspending its investigations in the absence of “conclusive evidence”, while saying there were “strong indications” that Russian President Vladimir Putin had personally approved the supply of the missile system that shot down the aircraft.
Collection of evidence “impossible”
Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said on Thursday that Russia had repeatedly tried to thwart the investigation, making it “impossible” to collect evidence.
“Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine and its failure to cooperate with the investigation have made ongoing investigative efforts and evidence collection impossible at this time,” they said in a joint statement.
They added that Australia “will hold Russia to account for its role in the civilian plane crash.”
Australia and the Netherlands have filed a case against Russia with the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency with limited executive powers.
In November 2022, a Dutch court convicted three men in absentia for their role in the MH17 disaster.
The three men, Russians Igor Girkin and Sergei Dubinsky and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko, remain at large and are unlikely to ever serve their life sentences. Russia has denied any involvement and dismissed the court’s 2022 verdict, calling it “outrageous” and politically motivated.
The families of the victims said they were disappointed by the decision to stop the investigation. “We expected more, but we didn’t really count on it,” said Piet Ploeg, president of the MH17 foundation, who lost his brother, sister-in-law and his nephew.
Source: BFM TV
