Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said Kyiv cannot agree with Iran's statement that Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was shot down by the Iranian military outside Tehran as a result of human error.
"As of now, Ukraine cannot agree that the plane was shot down as a result of human error," he said at an online briefing on Tuesday, according to an UNIAN correspondent.
Read alsoIran refuses to negotiate with Ukraine on compensation to UIA plane crash victims – MFA
"The latest report from the Iranian technical investigation states the Ukrainian plane was shot down from a rocket launcher. This is not news. We all knew about this. Another important step is the decoding of the black boxes scheduled to be held in France next week. The best experts from the U.S., Canada, France, Great Britain, and Ukraine will take part in their decoding," the minister said.
"But today I want to clearly emphasize: it is too early to say that the plane was shot down as a result of human error, as the Iranian side claims. We have a lot of questions, and we need authoritative, impartial, and the most objective answers regarding what happened," Kuleba said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, according to a report from Iran's Civil Aviation Organization, an Iranian air defense unit that "forgot" to adjust its radar system triggered a chain of communication and human errors that led to the deadly downing of the Ukrainian passenger jet in January 2020.
UNIAN memo. Kyiv-bound Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight PS752 crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport in the early hours of January 8. It was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members on board. Two passengers and the crew members were Ukrainians. There were also 82 citizens of Iran, 63 citizens of Canada, 10 citizens of Sweden, four citizens of Afghanistan, three citizens of Germany and the United Kingdom each. There were no survivors.
