UNITED NATIONS, July 28 /ITAR-TASS/. The Ukrainian military’s attempt to take control of the site where a Malaysian Airlines Boeing recently crashed will violate United Nations Security Council resolution 2166, Russia’s permanent representative to the international organization Vitaly Churkin said Monday.
The Ukrainian military’s attempt to take control of the site where a Malaysian Airlines Boeing recently crashed would violate a United Nations Security Council resolution, Russia’s permanent representative to the global organization Vitaly Churkin said Monday.
"Today we heard statements by some Ukrainian security officials that they intend to establish military control of the crash site. This will of course directly violate resolution 2166,” he said.
On July 17, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 passenger airliner on flight MH17 from the Dutch city of Amsterdam to the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur crashed in eastern Ukraine’s embattled Donetsk Region, killing all 298 people on board.
Resolution 2166 in particular says that the Security Council “condemns in the strongest terms the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on 17 July in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine resulting in the tragic loss of 298 lives” and “supports efforts to establish a full, thorough and independent international investigation into the incident in accordance with international civil aviation guidelines.”
It also says the Council “demands that the armed groups in control of the crash site and the surrounding area refrain from any actions that may compromise the integrity of the crash site” and “demands that all military activities, including by armed groups, be immediately ceased in the immediate area surrounding the crash site to allow for security and safety of the international investigation.”
International Mission
Churkin said he enthusiastically perceived the news that the Netherlands and Ukraine signed on Monday a deal to establish an international mission believed to ensure security of experts at the site of the plane crash. He said Russia immediately supported the idea to send a police and investigator group there.
“We said we are ready to immediately adopt a UN Security Council resolution that would support such steps on the part of the Dutch and Australians. They responded to us that they want to first of all agree about everything with the Kiev authorities, which is quite logical,” he said.
“But then, as far as I understand the situation, the Ukrainian side started protracting the talks. I don’t know whether it was dictated by their plans to militarily seize the crash site or other reasons. But the fact remains - they could have signed the agreement minutes ago,” Churkin said.
The diplomat stressed that Russia speaks for a thorough and unbiased investigation into the tragedy and that it took part in the work on a relevant UN Security Council resolution. “We don’t want anyone to interfere in the investigation,” he said.
Churkin condemns Kiev’s actions
Churkin said warfare that the Ukrainian army keeps conducting in the vicinity of the crash site “is clearly out of line with the resolution that the UN Security Council adopted July 21.”
He said Kiev’s actions are beyond the reasonable limits. “They shell residential neighborhoods from long-range artillery. Civilians die in tens,” he said.
Churkin recalled that Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko pledged his army will not open fire on civilians. “But they hit civilians, residential districts, apartment buildings, hospitals and parks,” he said. He urged Kiev to think of Ukrainian nationals.
“If the goal of the operation is to reunite the Ukrainian nation, then Kiev is making a tragic mistake that may have very serious long-term consequences,” the Russian permanent representative warned.
Possible reasons behind crash
Investigators say the Buk surface-to-air missile system (NATO reporting name: Gadfly) could have been used to down the passenger jet.
Meanwhile, on July 21, Russia’s Defense Ministry presented objective monitoring data showing that a Ukrainian military aircraft could have been involved in the Boeing’s crash.
The ministry also said it had photographs of Ukraine’s air defense systems confirming that one Buk system was moved toward an area controlled by southeastern militias on the day of the crash.
Russian General Staff Main Operations Directorate chief Lt. Gen. Andrey Kartapolov said a Buk system was discovered in the vicinity of the locality of Zaroshchinskaya (50 kilometers east of Donetsk) in the morning of July 17 and it was not there on July 18.
Kartapolov urged the Ukrainian military to explain Buk movements and stressed once again that Russia has not supplied the missile system, or any other weapons, to southeastern militiamen. He called video footage allegedly showing Buk’s movement from Ukraine to Russia fake.
Southeastern crisis
