On July 29, 2015, a Security Council resolution which would have established an international tribunal "to prosecute persons responsible for crimes connected with the downing of [Malaysian Airlines] MH17" was vetoed by the Russian Federation. The Malaysia Airlines flight was shot out of the sky and crashed in Donetsk, Ukraine, on July 17, 2014, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board.
The draft resolution called for all states and non-state actors in the region to fully cooperate with the investigation of an international criminal tribunal. It followed an earlier resolution adopted just after the crash, on July 21, 2014, that called on all UN member states to provide assistance to any civil or criminal investigations into the crash.
United States officials have determined that the airplane was shot down by a Russian-made surface-to-air "Buk" missile launched from rebel-held territory, and that the missile system was likely transferred from Russia directly to the rebels.
Vitaly Churkin, Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, explained the country's veto to the Security Council this way:
"The Russian Federation did not support the creation of an international tribunal under Chapter VII, as resolution 2166 (2014) had not considered the downing of the aircraft a threat to international peace and security."