Photo from un.org

"But let us be clear: today's veto cannot – and will not – deny the victims and their families justice. There cannot and will not be impunity for those who downed a civilian airliner with 298 people aboard. Because when justice is denied for those 298 individuals and their families and their communities, it is denied for all of our families and our communities – and all of our nations. So while we are outraged and gravely disappointed by the outcome of this vote, today we say to those families: No veto will stand in the way of this heinous crime being investigated and prosecuted. And no veto will weaken our unshakeable commitment to you – to ensure that you and your loved ones have the justice that you deserve," she said in a statement posted on the U.S. Mission to the United Nations website at usun.state.gov.

Power pointed to "Russia's refusal even to negotiate this resolution and statute, essentially preventing any meaningful negotiation of those texts from taking place."

"By vetoing this resolution, Russia has tried to deny justice to the 298 victims on that plane, and deny their families a chance to hold accountable those responsible. Russia has callously disregarded the public outcry in the grieving nations, the appeals of the families affected," she said.

Видео дня

"It is tragic that Russia has used the privilege entrusted to it in order to advance international peace and security in order to frustrate international peace and security," Power said.

As UNIAN reported earlier,Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on setting up an MH17 international criminal tribunal to prosecute those responsible for downing a Malaysia Airlines plane over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014 that killed all 298 people on board.