Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that he expects a full investigation, a full admission of guilt and compensation from Iran after the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane.
His comments yesterday came shortly after Tehran said it had mistakenly shot down the plane killing all 176 people on board on Wednesday, on the same day it struck military bases hosting US troops in retaliation for Washington’s assassination of top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani last week.
Zelenskyy says they expect from Iran assurances of their readiness for a full and open investigation, bringing those responsible to justice, the return of the bodies of the dead, the payment of compensation, official apologies through diplomatic channels.
Iran said that its military “unintentionally” shot down the Ukrainian jetliner, blaming “human error” for the incident in which the military mistook Flight 752 for a “hostile target”.
National broadcaster Press TV also quoted Iran’s armed forces as saying that the plane had flown close to a “sensitive military site”.
The military said it was at its “highest level of readiness” amid the heightened tensions with the United States. It apologised and said it would upgrade its systems to prevent future tragedies.
In a statement posted on social media, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani wrote that the country “deeply regrets this disastrous mistake”.
