THE government of Ukraine has strongly rejected Russia’s narrative surrounding the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, dismissing it as a baseless conspiracy theory, Reuters reports.

Lawyers representing Ukraine presented their case at the United Nations’ highest court, accusing Moscow of supporting separatist groups in eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Kyiv contends that Russia violated a UN anti-terrorism treaty by providing weapons and financial assistance to pro-Russian forces, including militias responsible for shooting down MH17 in July 2014, resulting in the tragic deaths of all 298 passengers and crew on board.

In November of last year, a Dutch court convicted two Russians and a Ukrainian separatist in absentia for their involvement in the airliner’s downing, sentencing them to life imprisonment. The court concluded that Russia had “overall control” over the separatist forces.

Russia promptly rejected the Dutch court’s decision at that time. During recent hearings at the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, Russia dismissed Ukraine’s MH17 case as unfounded and put forth numerous alternative explanations for the incident.

In response, Ukraine’s legal team yesterday vigorously defended its position. Marney Cheek, one of the lawyers representing Ukraine, stated that they had been subjected to an “incoherent conspiracy theory” regarding the MH17 tragedy, suggesting that such arguments belonged to the fringes of the internet.

Kyiv has accused Russia of being a state sponsor of terrorism and has also accused it of attempting to eradicate the cultural heritage of ethnic Tatars and Ukrainians in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Ukraine has urged the court to find Moscow guilty of breaching its treaty obligations and to order reparations.

Russia denies any systematic human rights abuses in the Ukrainian territory it occupies and maintains that it has fulfilled its obligations under the UN treaty against financing terrorism. Russia will have a final opportunity to respond to Ukraine’s allegations on Thursday.

It is important to note that the World Court case originated in 2017, well before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The International Court of Justice is expected to issue its ruling on the case before the end of this year. – June 13, 2023.