Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Iran pleaded guilty to shooting down Ukrainian plane even before completion of international commission’s work.

“Even before the completion of the work by the international commission, Iran has pleaded guilty to shooting down the Ukrainian plane. However, we insist on the full admission of guilt. We expect Iran to assure of willingness to conduct a full and open investigation, bring those responsible to justice, return the bodies of the deceased, pay compensation, and make an official apology through diplomatic channels,” Zelensky said in a statement that was published on his official website.

Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, said on Saturday that the Ukrainian passenger plane had been shot down erroneously by the Iranian air defense system.

The passenger plane, with 176 people aboard, was mistakenly downed on Wednesday morning. It happened a few hours after Iran fired dozens of missiles at the U.S. airbase inside Iraq in retaliation for the assassination of Iranian Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on January 3.

The victims of the crash included 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and three British nationals.

NA/PA