MOSCOW

Ukraine jointly with the UK, Afghanistan, Canada, and Sweden called Friday on Iran "to provide a complete and thorough explanation" on downing the Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 a year ago.

In a statement, published on its official website, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry recalled that the plane was downed by two Iranian military surface-to-air missiles near Tehran on Jan. 8, 2020.

"Today we honor the memory of those who perished and offer our sincere condolences to all who mourn the victims of the PS752 tragedy. We share the grief of the families, relatives and friends who lost loved ones," the ministry said.

The ministry stressed that besides "a complete and thorough explanation of the events and decisions that led to this appalling plane crash", it would like to know what measures Iran undertook to ensure that similar incidents will never happen again.

"Our countries will hold Iran to account to deliver justice and make sure Iran makes full reparations to the families of the victims and affected countries," it said.

The Boeing 737-800 of the Ukrainian International Airlines crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport just hours after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles targeting US troops in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian general.

Some 176 people died in the crash, including Iranians, Canadians, Ukrainians, Swedes, Afghans, Germans, and British citizens.