Australia And Netherlands Launch Legal Action Against Russia For Shooting Down Malaysian Flight

Australia and the Netherlands have filed a legal complaint against Russia with the International Civil Aviation Organization of the United Nations.

Both countries are banding together to take measures against Russia in the aftermath of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in 2014.

According to CNN, the Australian government made the announcement on Monday.

The Malaysia Airlines Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur flight was shot down in July 2014 by a missile fired by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine, killing all 28 passengers on board.

“The Russian Federation’s refusal to take responsibility for its role in the downing of Flight MH17 is unacceptable and the Australian Government has always said that it will not exclude any legal options in our pursuit of justice,” the statement said.

Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, Foreign Minister, Marise Payne and Attorney General, Michaelia Cash, issued the statement on Monday.

The statement added that since October 2020 when Russia left the negotiations table, they have refused to return.

The negotiations were with Australia and the Netherlands regarding the shooting down of Flight MH17, but the Russians unilaterally withdrew despite repeated requests by the two countries.

Both countries said they will argue in the court that it was actually Russia that supplied the separatists with the missile system used in the attack then took it back afterward.

They said, “the missile could only have been fired by the trained Russian crew of the Buk-TELAR, or at least by someone acting under their instruction, direction or control.”