Kyiv, the European Union and western states have urged Moscow finally to accept responsibility for the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, as relatives of the 298 victims marked a decade since it was hit by a Russian missile over eastern Ukraine.
Everyone on-board was killed when the Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was blown out of the sky in July 2014 over territory in the Donetsk region that was then controlled by Moscow-led militants and is now occupied by Russia.
A Dutch-based criminal investigation found that the Buk missile system that fired on MH17 was delivered to the militants from a Russian armed forces base near the city of Kursk and returned there with at least one rocket missing after the incident.
A Dutch court in 2022 sentenced two Russians and a Ukrainian militant in absentia to life imprisonment for murdering everyone on the plane, but Russia has refused to extradite them and says the investigation and trial were politically motivated.
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The European Union said evidence presented in court “makes it abundantly clear that the Buk surface-to-air missile system used to bring down Flight MH17 belonged beyond doubt to the armed forces of the Russian Federation. No Russian disinformation operation can distract from these basic facts, established by a court of law.”
“The European Union reiterates its call on the Russian Federation to accept its responsibility in this tragedy and to co-operate fully in serving justice,” the EU added.
The plane was hit five months after the pro-democracy Maidan revolution in Ukraine pivoted the country towards the West, and Russia reacted by annexing Crimea and sending arms and fighters across the border to seize parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
“The whole world witnessed then who came to wage war against Ukraine and that Russian evil is a threat not only to us but to all. 298 people were killed, including 80 children – citizens of a dozen countries from different parts of the world,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on social media on Wednesday.
“Everyone guilty of this and other Russian war crimes will undoubtedly hear the verdicts they deserve.”
The Netherlands was home to 196 of the victims, and King Willem-Alexander and senior government officials joined their relatives for commemoration events.
“The years pass, but the enormous loss remains,” said Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp. “Throughout the years, we have been committed to pursuing truth, justice and accountability, together with other affected countries. We will continue these efforts,” he added.
Russia faces continued legal action over the incident in the European Court of Human Rights and through the International Civil Aviation Organisation council (ICAO), but withdrew from the latter process in June.
“We deeply regret the Russian Federation’s decision to withdraw unilaterally from ICAO proceedings on MH17 and we continue to call on Russia to co-operate in full with efforts to establish accountability so that justice can be fully delivered,” said British foreign secretary David Lammy. Ten Britons died on MH17.
Australia lost 38 citizens and permanent residents on the flight, and its foreign minister, Penny Wong, said Russia’s responsibility for the atrocity had been “unequivocally and conclusively” established.
“So while we are appalled that Russia has withdrawn from the [ICAO] action ... we will not be deterred in our commitment to hold Russia to account,” she added.
Nearly 2½ years into Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, the warring neighbours each released 95 prisoners of war in an exchange on Wednesday.
Rolling blackouts continued to affect millions of people across Ukraine as electricity demand during a heatwave outstripped the capacity of an energy grid that has been badly damaged by repeated Russian missile and drone strikes.
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