KIEV, September 6 - RAPSI. Siberia Airlines will appeal the Kiev court ruling, which held against the airline in its claim against the Ukrainian defense and finance ministries over a Tu-154 aircraft crash in 2001, RIA Novosti reports.

Siberia Airlines filed a $15.32 million lawsuit with the court against the ministries in 2004.

"We will definitely appeal the judgment," airlines lawyer Alexandra Pavlenko said. "Siberia Airlines will take a tougher stance toward the case. We never made any fuss about the tragedy before and gave Ukraine six years to settle the case in court."

A Tu-154 flying from Tel-Aviv to Novosibirsk crashed in October 2001 off the Black Sea coast.

All 78 passengers and crew were killed.

An intergovernmental aviation commission discovered that the aircraft was mistakenly hit by missile during the Ukrainian air defense exercises.

Ukraine paid $200,000 in morale damage to the relatives of each deceased passenger before the investigation ended.