Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday demanded punishment or compensation for all those who were responsible for the downing of a Ukrainian airliner early on Wednesday.
In a Facebook post, the Ukraine leader said, “We expect Iran … to bring the guilty to the courts, also demanded the “payment of compensation” after Tehran admitted accidentally downing the plane that killed all 176 people on board.
Earlier in the day, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said, “that the aircraft, which had flown close to a sensitive military site belonging to the elite Revolutionary Guards, was shot down “unintentionally due to human error”.
On Wednesday, the Kiev-bound Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight PS75 crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran that killed 176 people on board.
The Iranian military also put out a statement earlier today stating that the plane was mistaken for a “hostile target” after it turned toward a “sensitive military centre” of the Revolutionary Guard. It also blamed the “highest level of readiness” resulting from tensions with the United States.
The crash came hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack targeting two bases in Iraq housing US forces in retaliation to the killing of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassim Suleimani.
The United States and Canada had said that the plane was shot down.