MOSCOW (AP) — Organizers insist Russia’s first Formula One Grand Prix will go ahead as planned despite an airliner being shot down in the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine.

Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed Thursday in eastern Ukraine. All 298 people on board are believed to have been killed.

Ukraine accused pro-Russian separatists of shooting the plane down, something the rebels deny.

The promoters of the Oct. 12 Russian Grand Prix in Sochi told The Associated Press in a statement Friday that “all the preparations are on track and run according to the schedule,” and that “organisers are confident that the inaugural Russian Grand Prix will be comfortable for all.”

Sochi’s Olympic Park circuit is located in southern Russia, around 540 kilometers (335 miles) from the crash site.

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