Kiev District Court to Consider Claim by Relatives of Passengers Killed in the Air Crash

On Tuesday, Kiev's Pechersky District court will reconsider a consolidated claim lodged by the relatives of the 13 crew members and passengers killed in the crash of the Tu-154 that was shot down by the Ukrainian S-200 missile in 2001 over the Black Sea. Under various pretexts, Ukraine refuses to pay compensation to the relatives flagrantly violating international practice.

According to lawyers who defend the rights of the relatives, at the latest hearing, on January 28, each claim was read out separately. The representatives of the respondent reject their complaints and will seek lower compensations.

On Tuesday, the court is expected to continue considering the claims of the relatives of the 10 crew members and three passengers, who sued for damages. According to attorneys, the compensations for damages total 1.5 million hryvnas /about 280,000 dollars/, the total sum runs into several million hryvnas.

The respondent was represented by the government, the Defence Ministry and the Ukrainian State Treasury who persistently deny their involvement in the crash, ignoring the conclusions made by the Russian-Ukrainian Interstate Commission.

The Tu-154 was shot down on October 4, 2001 by the Ukrainian S-200 missile launched during military exercises. As a result, 78 people were killed - 66 passengers, mostly from Israel, and 12 crew members.