Iran will pay Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) compensation for the losses the airline suffered after Iran downed its passenger plane PS752 near the Tehran airport on Jan. 8, Yevhen Yenin, deputy foreign minister of Ukraine, said on Facebook on Aug. 11.
“I find it difficult to imagine a possibility where Iran avoids the responsibility for downing the Ukrainian Boeing, and all involved parties understand this,” Yenin stated.
The statement, however, does not specify how much money Iran has to pay — to both the airline and families of the victims. In February, Iran suggested paying $80,000 to each family, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the offer, trying to negotiate larger payouts. Back in January, UIA released a general press statement stating that it expects timely financial support for the families of the victims. The Kyiv Post could not reach UIA to comment on whether the airline expects to be fully compensated for the damages by Iran before publishing.
UIA is a privately-owned Ukrainian airline company and has a reputation of being connected to Ihor Kolomoisky.
The compensation for destroying the aircraft, meanwhile, remains undisclosed. A new Boeing costs on average $106 million.
Amirali Hajizadeh, Iran’s Aerospace Force commander, had personally admitted responsibility over the downing of the Ukrainian aircraft, claiming the plane was shot down by an Iranian air defense missile due to “human error.” Besides, the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran released on July 11 a report that confirmed that Iran downed the plane.
However, just a day ago, on Aug. 10, Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the Central Insurance Organization in Iran, said Iran won’t pay the Ukrainian airline any compensation for downing its plane which killed 176 people, including 11 Ukrainians — nine crew members and two passengers.
Soleimani continued to justify his position, saying the Ukrainian plane “was not insured” by Iranian insurance companies, Reuters reported, citing local media.
Yenin, in turn, claims that the European insurance company responsible for insuring the UIA passenger jet had effectively outsourced its risk to other insurance firms.
“Iran will be obliged to reimburse UIA — if not directly, then in the appropriate manner to the relevant insurance firms,” Yenin said.
Iran invited Ukrainian diplomats to come to Tehran in October to discuss the compensation.
