Zelensky Address: National Day of Mourning, Start of UIA Crash Investigation and Flight Ban

The president hopes that our specialists will be given access to the investigation in Iran.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recorded a video address in which he expressed condolences to the relatives and loved ones of the 11 Ukrainian citizens killed in the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) plane crash. He said the state would provide all necessary assistance to the families of the victims.

Volodymyr Zelensky
President of Ukraine

9 January has been declared a National Day of Mourning. I also express condolences to the families of the other victims. They are known to be citizens of Iran, Canada, Sweden, Afghanistan and the United Kingdom. Of course, for Ukraine the priority is establishing the causes of the plane crash. We will definitely learn the truth. To this end, a detailed and independent investigation will be carried out in accordance with international law. The crash investigation will be conducted by a commission set up by the Civil Aviation Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Ukrainian president said that at 3:30 a.m., 45 Ukrainian specialists arrived in Iran from the State Aviation Service, the National Bureau of Investigation of Civil Aviation Events and Incidents, as well as UIA representatives. All of them will participate in the investigation, including decoding the black box recordings, which Iran has not handed over to Boeing or to any other country. 

UIA President Yevhen Dykhne wrote on Facebook that everyone is counting on Ukrainian specialists being given access to all information from the crash site.

Yevhen Dykhne
UIA President

We hope, believe and strongly count on our representatives being allowed to the site of the incident; on being given access to all necessary primary information; and on the principles of transparency being ensured during the investigation of the aviation accident. Because the families want to know the answers. They need only very honest communication. And it is our moral obligation to provide it to them.

Zelensky also said he would hold a phone call today with the President of Iran about cooperation with Ukraine to establish the truth. He called on other countries, especially Canada, to join the investigation into the UIA plane crash. Canadian Prime Minister had earlier made a statement in which he said he intended to cooperate with Ukraine on the UIA plane crash case.  

The president confirmed that full inspections of UIA and other airlines will be carried out in Ukraine. Earlier, Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk had reported this.

Zelensky recommended that Ukrainian citizens refrain from visiting this region. Until all causes of the plane crash are established, Ukrainian airlines are banned from flying in the airspace of Iran and Iraq. Only the United States has stopped flights to Tehran. No other country banned flights over Iran or cancelled flights before the plane crash.

Volodymyr Zelensky asked everyone to refrain from manipulation, speculation, conspiracy theories, categorical assessments and unverified versions of the crash. According to him, everyone now needs calm, wisdom and patience.

Earlier, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry explained why Iran became the main country of investigation into the UIA plane crash.

On the night of 9 January, the plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky landed in Kyiv, after which Zelensky went straight to the Presidential Office.