Kyiv Economic Court on 6 Sept. threw out an appeal by Russia's S7 Airlines (Siberia Airlines) to recover $15.32 million in damages from the Defense Ministry of Ukraine for the destruction of one of its Tu-154 aircraft in 2001, a source at the court has told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to the interstate aviation commission that conducted an investigation into the accident, the destruction of the Tu-154 passenger aircraft belonging to Russia’s S7 Airlines above the Black Sea took place on October 4, 2001 after it was hit by a Ukrainian S-200 rocket during Ukrainian air defense maneuvers. Some 78 people, citizens of Russia and Israel, were killed.
In 2003-2005, the Ukrainian government paid $15.6 million in compensation to the relatives of the victims. In 2004 S7 Airlines filed an appeal at Kyiv Economic Court against the Defense Ministry and the State Treasury to gain reimbursement for the destruction of its Tu-154 aircraft.
