'Never again' says Ukraine as families mourn Iran plane crash victims

[January 08, 2021]  By Ilya Zhegulev

KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine called on Iran to deliver justice and pay full compensation to the families of those who died when a Ukrainian airliner was shot down by Iranian Revolutionary Guards one year ago.

On the first anniversary of the crash, Ukraine and other countries jointly called for "a complete and thorough explanation ... including concrete measures to ensure that it will never happen again," according to a statement.

"Our countries will hold Iran to account to deliver justice and make sure Iran makes full reparations to the families of the victims and affected countries," said the statement, made jointly with Afghanistan, Canada, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
 

Iran last week allocated $150,000 for the families of each of the 176 victims of the Ukraine International Airlines plane shot down in Iranian airspace on Jan 8, 2020. Many victims were Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada.

"No one doubts that the lives of 176 civilians aboard a peaceful plane were criminally taken by two missiles," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a statement.

"It was impossible not to know then that it was a passenger plane in the air."

Describing Iran's handling of the situation as "unacceptable", Ukraine had earlier said the amount of compensation should be negotiated.

People attend a commemorative ceremony, which marks the first anniversary of the Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 downing in Iranian airspace, in Kyiv, Ukraine January 8, 2021. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

A Canadian adviser said on Thursday it was premature to discuss how much compensation to pay to relatives.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have said they accidentally shot down the aircraft shortly after takeoff, mistaking it for a missile when tensions with the United States were high.

(Writing by Matthias Williams, Editing by William Maclean)

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