Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, on behalf of the Ukrainian state, has expressed his condolences to the families and friends of the innocent victims of the crash of a Malaysian Airlines aircraft, the presidential press service has reported.
“Ukraine grieves with you,” he said in his address dedicated to the plane crash, which was released early on Friday, July 18.
“Unfortunately, today’s tragedy is another proof that terrorism is
not a local problem but a global one. And the external aggression
against Ukraine is not only our problem but also a threat to the
European and global security. Joint efforts are needed to resolve it,”
Poroshenko said.
“Today the terrorists have killed almost 300 people with one shot.
There were women, children and citizens of many countries onboard. They
shot down a passenger plane of Malaysia Airlines flying from Amsterdam
to Kuala Lumpur at an altitude of 10,100 meters,” he said.
Poroshenko noted that “today the war has gone beyond the territory of
Ukraine” and that its consequences had already reached the whole world.
“The tragedy that took place today over Donetsk region deeply shocks
even against the usual backdrop of sad and dramatic events caused by the
actions of aggressors and militants in the Donbas… In recent days,
this has become the third tragic accident after the Ukrainian An-26 and
Su-25 military aircraft were downed from Russian territory,” he said.
Poroshenko recalled that on his instruction the Ukrainian government
had created a state commission to investigate the causes of the
disaster, involving experts from the International Civil Aviation
Organization, as well as representatives of the Netherlands, Malaysia
and the United States.
” Today the whole world has seen the true face of the aggressor,
since the downing of a civil aircraft is an act of international
terrorism aimed against the whole world. It is a challenge for the whole
world,” he said.
