The Latest: Ukraine airline says it always knew not at fault
Columbia Basin Herald | UPDATED 6 years, 9 months AGO
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The latest on Iran-related developments (all times local):
12:50 p.m.
The head of the Ukrainian airline whose jetliner was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile in Iran says he was sure all along that that the company was not at fault.
Iran on Saturday acknowledged that it shot down the Ukraine International plane three days earlier, killing all 176 people aboard, after repeated denials from Iranian officials.
“We did not for a second doubt that our crew and our plane could not have been the cause of this terrible, awful air catastrophe,” airline president Evgeniy Dikhne said on Facebook. "They were our best guys and girls. The best."
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12:15 p.m.
Ukraine's president says Iran must take further steps, including an official apology, following its admission that one of its missiles shot down an Ukrainian passenger plane.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a statement Saturday that Ukraine expected from Iran “assurances" of a “full and open investigation, bringing the perpetrators to justice.”
He added that Ukraine expected the “paying of compensation” and “official apologies through diplomatic channels.”
He also expressed hope for the continuation of the crash investigation without delay. A team of Ukrainian investigators is in Iran.
"Our 45 specialists should get full access and cooperation to establish justice,” he said.
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6:40 a.m.
Iran announced Saturday that its military “unintentionally” shot down a Ukrainian jetliner, killing all 176 aboard.
The statement came Saturday morning and blamed “human error” for the shootdown.
The jetliner, a Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines, went down on the outskirts of Tehran during takeoff just hours after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at U.S. forces.
Iran had denied for several days that a missile downed the aircraft. But then the U.S. and Canada, citing intelligence, said they believe Iran shot down the aircraft.
The plane, en route to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members from several countries, including 82 Iranians, at least 63 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians, according to officials.