MOSCOW, July 16. /TASS/. Ukraine has not closed its air space in the region of combat actions in eastern Ukraine before the MH17 crash because of its greed, Russia’s Rosaviation federal agency deputy head Oleg Storchevoy told a briefing on Thursday.

After the start of the anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine, heavy weaponry was used and Ukrainian fighter jets started flying in the region, Storchevoy said. "Taking this into account, it is only fair to ask this question: why did Western countries not pressure Ukraine and International Civil Aviation Organization [ICAO] into prohibiting flights over Donbass before the MH17 crash? Why has Ukraine restricted flights over Donbass only at 9,750 meters, but has not closed the air space over the region?" he wondered. "It is obvious that Ukraine did not want to lose any money from closing its air space, and this avarice resulted in victims - 298 people," Storchevoy said.

He reminded that in case of an emergency, a plane has to descend to an altitude of about 3,000 meters. "That means that pilots would have only been allowed to descend over the conflict zone," the deputy head noted.

The deputy head reminded that in April 2014, ICAO immediately reacted to ban on flights over Simferopol after Crimea’s reunification with Russia "for safety concerns." "But ICAO ignored [warnings] and did not ban flights over Donbass," he added.