Iran allocates payment to families of Ukraine crash victims

A man sits by a memorial for the victims of the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 crash in the Iranian capital Tehran, at the Boryspil airport outside Kiev on January 8, 2020. – A Ukrainian airliner crashed shortly after take-off from Tehran Wednesday killing all 176 people on board, in a disaster striking a region rattled by heightened military tensions. (Photo by Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP) (Photo by SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images)

by: Associated Press

Posted: Dec 30, 2020 / 08:54 AM AST

Updated: Dec 30, 2020 / 08:37 AM AST

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran says its cabinet has created a compensation fund to pay the families of the 176 victims of a Ukrainian passenger plane that was shot down by Iranian forces outside Tehran last January.

State TV reported that Iran will pay $150,000 for each victim, without specifying a timeline for the awards.

The announcement comes as the families of victims prepare to mark the anniversary of the Jan. 8 crash.

Diplomats from nations that lost citizens are pushing Iran for more cooperation on the investigation and compensation issues.

For days, Iran denied that its military was responsible before admitting that its military had mistakenly fired at the Ukrainian jetliner and killed all onboard.