Bodies of Ukrainian Victims Returned Home as Iran Backtracks on Sending Flight Recorders

Stewardesses with Ukrainian air-line react near to coffins of the flight crew members of the Ukrainian 737-800 plane that crashed on the outskirts of Tehran, during a memorial service at Borispil international airport outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. AP
Stewardesses with Ukrainian air-line react near to coffins of the flight crew members of the Ukrainian 737-800 plane that crashed on the outskirts of Tehran, during a memorial service at Borispil international airport outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. AP
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Bodies of Ukrainian Victims Returned Home as Iran Backtracks on Sending Flight Recorders

Stewardesses with Ukrainian air-line react near to coffins of the flight crew members of the Ukrainian 737-800 plane that crashed on the outskirts of Tehran, during a memorial service at Borispil international airport outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. AP
Stewardesses with Ukrainian air-line react near to coffins of the flight crew members of the Ukrainian 737-800 plane that crashed on the outskirts of Tehran, during a memorial service at Borispil international airport outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. AP

The bodies of the 11 Ukrainians who died when a passenger plane was accidentally shot down by Iran have arrived in Ukraine for a farewell ceremony on Sunday.

They were among the 176 people killed in the Jan. 8 catastrophe, when a Ukrainian Airlines plane was brought down shortly after takeoff from Tehran.

The bodies were brought to Kiev's Boryspil Airport aboard a Ukrainian air force plane.

An honor guard solemnly carried the coffins into the airport terminal, where a farewell observance is to last until the evening.

Meanwhile, the Iranian official leading the investigation into the accident appeared to backtrack Sunday on plans to send the flight recorders abroad for analysis, a day after saying they would be sent to Kiev, the Associated Press reported.

Hassan Rezaeifar was quoted by the state-run IRNA news agency as saying “the flight recorders from the Ukrainian Boeing are in Iranian hands and we have no plans to send them out.”

Iran is working to recover the data and cabin recordings, and it may send the flight recorders to Ukraine or France, he said.

“But as of yet, we have made no decision.” Rezaeifar noted.

The military has said it downed Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 in error in the aftermath of tit-for-tat strikes by the US and Iran. Authorities delayed revealing these details which lead to days of protests on Iran's streets.

According to Reuters, the plane disaster has heightened international pressure on Tehran as it grapples with a long-running dispute with Washington over its nuclear programme and its influence in the
region.

Ukraine has previously said it expected the recorders to be handed over, while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said France was one of the few countries with the ability to read information on the recorders.

Meanwhile, France's air accident agency BEA said on Saturday it was awaiting an official request for assistance.



Russia, North Korea Foreign Ministers Meet, Pyongyang Backs Ukraine War

12 July 2025, North Korea, Wonsan: Sergei Lavrov (2nd L), Foreign Minister of Russia, and his North Korean counterpart Choe Son-hui (3rd R) hold a meeting. Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS via ZUMA Press/dpa
12 July 2025, North Korea, Wonsan: Sergei Lavrov (2nd L), Foreign Minister of Russia, and his North Korean counterpart Choe Son-hui (3rd R) hold a meeting. Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS via ZUMA Press/dpa
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Russia, North Korea Foreign Ministers Meet, Pyongyang Backs Ukraine War

12 July 2025, North Korea, Wonsan: Sergei Lavrov (2nd L), Foreign Minister of Russia, and his North Korean counterpart Choe Son-hui (3rd R) hold a meeting. Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS via ZUMA Press/dpa
12 July 2025, North Korea, Wonsan: Sergei Lavrov (2nd L), Foreign Minister of Russia, and his North Korean counterpart Choe Son-hui (3rd R) hold a meeting. Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS via ZUMA Press/dpa

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with his North Korean counterpart in the coastal city of Wonsan on Saturday, during which Pyongyang reaffirmed its support for Russia’s military actions in Ukraine, the TASS state news agency reported.

Lavrov flew out of Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on Friday following the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting, arriving the same day in Wonsan, North Korea, home to a newly opened seaside resort but also known for its missile and naval facilities, reported Reuters.

Lavrov's visit is the latest high-level meeting between the two countries as they upgrade their strategic cooperation to now include a mutual defense pact.

"We exchanged views on the situation surrounding the Ukrainian crisis ... Our Korean friends confirmed their firm support for all the objectives of the special military operation, as well as for the actions of the Russian leadership and armed forces," TASS quoted Lavrov as saying.

The South Korean intelligence service has said North Korea may be preparing to deploy additional troops in July or August, after sending more than 10,000 soldiers to fight with Russia in the war against Ukraine.

North Korea has agreed to dispatch 6,000 military engineers and builders for reconstruction in Russia's Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces launched a mass cross-border incursion nearly a year ago.

Russian news agencies also reported Lavrov's arrival and said after North Korea he is expected to travel to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting, which is set to take place on Monday and Tuesday.

TASS said the new Wonsan coastal resort could boost Russian tourism to North Korea, citing the resumption of direct trains from Moscow to Pyongyang and a project to build a bridge across the Tumen River forming part of the boundary between North Korea, China and Russia.

TASS quoted Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko as saying more high-level delegations would visit North Korea later this year.

Rudenko said the accord on strategic partnership "clearly meets the changing needs over recent decades and strengthens traditionally friendly, good-neighborly Russian-Korean relations to a qualitatively new level as allies."