Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova has said the Ukrainian side started examining a flight crew tablet found at the crash site of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 that was brought down by a missile in Iran a year ago.
"The investigation of the plane crash near Tehran continues under the procedural guidance of the Office of the Prosecutor General. Throughout the year, over 200 procedural and investigative actions were carried out, 18 inquiries for international legal assistance were sent to other countries, while we are in constant contact with the competent authorities of Iran and Canada," she wrote on Facebook.
As part of international cooperation, Venediktova added the Ukrainian delegation had traveled to the crash site where the team were able to partially inspect and make photos of the wreckage.
"A comprehensive forensic examination is underway in Ukraine to establish the causes and nature of aircraft crash, the amount of material damage and compliance with the rules of international flights," she said, adding Ukraine had started examining the flight crew tablet found at the crash site, which Iran handed over to Ukraine in December 2020.
Venediktova reiterated the Ukrainian side had recently received from Iran a draft final technical report on the plane crash.
"It takes 60 days to analyze the document and offer comments and suggestions, after which the Iranian side is set to finalize it in a month. And it will be made public only after it is approved by the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)," the prosecutor general said.
Read alsoPS752 downing: Iran to be held accountable to deliver justice – Joint statementPS752 downing in Iran: Background
On January 8, 2020, Kyiv-bound Boeing 737 passenger jet flight PS752, operated by Ukraine International Airlines, crashed in Iran shortly after takeoff from Tehran Airport.
All 176 people on board, including 11 Ukrainian nationals – nine crew and two passengers – were killed. Among victims are also citizens of Iran, Canada, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany, and the UK.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani admitted that the Ukrainian liner had been shot down as a result of an unintentional "human error," and promised to bring those responsible to justice.
On June 9, media reports said Iran had accused six persons in the PS752 downing case.
On July 20, the flight recorders were delivered to Paris and decrypted on July 21.
On July 24, it was reported that data from the black boxes had confirmed external interference with the aircraft's operation.
On October 23, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Yenin said Iran would pay compensation to the relatives of victims of the UIA flight PS752 crash, but the process might last up to two years.
On December 9, however, Yenin said that Iran had withdrawn the offer to handle the payments to the families of those killed in the UIA plane crash.
In the middle of December, Canada expressed its position on the Iranian investigation into the downing of the Ukrainian plane, saying it is not credible.
On December 22, the Iranian news agency Tasnim reported that Iranian investigators, during a video conference, had provided representatives of other countries whose citizens were victims of the crash with a technical report on the UIA downing.
On December 23, Yenin said that Ukraine had not received the report.
On December 24, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed concern that Iran was delaying the negotiation process on the case of the downed Ukraine International Airlines plane. He noted that Ukraine had not received a technical report from Iran on the plane downed almost a year ago.
On December 30, Iranian cabinet members reportedly agreed at a session to allocate US$150,000 or its equivalent in euros to each family of the victims of the Ukrainian plane crash in January 2020.
