MH17 tragedy: 10 years after Russia’s attack on Malaysian airlines

Contents

• Facts about Flight MH17 downing
• Investigation of MH17 case and punishment of guilty
• Victims of the Boeing 777 crash
• Commemorating victims
• EU's address to Russia on 10th anniversary of tragedy

Facts about Flight MH17 downing

On July 17, 2014, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 passenger plane was operating flight MH17. It flew from Amsterdam (Netherlands) to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).

There were 298 people on board (283 passengers and 15 crew members), 80 of whom were children.

Around 16:00, contact with the plane was lost (it was flying over Ukraine's Donbas region).

Later, photos of the plane wreckage appeared online near the occupied city of Torez.

Russian occupiers struck the Boeing with a Buk missile system. Later, an international investigation established that the weapon belonged to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian army (the Buk was of Russian manufacture).

Malaysian Boeing was shot down 10 years ago (illustration: facebook.com/victims.of.russia)

The plane crashed near a sunflower field. Thus, sunflowers became a symbol of remembrance for the victims.

The crime of the Russians took the lives of 298 people (illustration: facebook.com/victims.of.russia)

Investigation of MH17 case and punishment of guilty

The crash of the Malaysian Boeing 777 over Ukraine was investigated for six years by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which included representatives from Ukraine, the Netherlands, Malaysia, Belgium, and Australia.

Meanwhile, Russia obstructed the investigation in every possible way and, despite all appeals, did not cooperate.

The work of the Joint Investigation Team (photo: Getty Images)

Finally, it was established that:

• The plane had no malfunctions
• Flight MH17 proceeded usually and according to schedule
• The plane was hit by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile launched from a Buk missile system
• The Buk missile system belonged to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces, based in the Kursk region of Russia
• On the eve of the tragedy, the Buk missile system was transported to the occupied territory of Donbas (likely near Snizhne) via an uncontrolled section of the border with Russia
• The Buk missile system was returned to base the night after the plane was shot down
• On March 9, 2020, a criminal trial began in the Netherlands in the MH17 case, which lasted for 2.5 years.

Judicial process (photo: Getty Images)

In the case, there were four suspects:

• Igor Girkin (Strelkov) - retired officer of the Russian Armed Forces, former colonel of the FSB, ex-commander of the pro-Russian terrorist group Donetsk People's Republic(DPR), was the first Minister of Defense of the DPR, led the siege of Sloviansk in 2014
• Sergey Dubinsky (Khmury) - subordinate of Girkin (at the time of the downing of Boeing 777), Major General of the Russian Army, former colonel of the GRU, former head of the so-called military intelligence of militants in the pseudo-republic DPR
• Leonid Kharchenko (Krot) - a native of Donbas, who in 2014 became the commander of one of the reconnaissance units of the so-called GRU(Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation) in the self-proclaimed DPR, accompanied the Buk in Donetsk region.
• Oleg Pulatov - a Russian who, according to the court's preliminary version, may have been involved in guarding the Buk missile system at the launch site

Notably, Pulatov was the only one represented by lawyers in court. They requested the court to consider more alternative versions of the tragedy, to question additional witnesses, and criticized the process for rejecting their motions. The court even accused the lawyers of delaying the proceedings.

Finally, Pulatov was acquitted - there was insufficient evidence to prove the court's preliminary version.

Rescuers at the site of the Boeing 777 crash (photo: Getty Images)

At the same time, Girkin, Dubinsky, and Kharchenko were found guilty by the Hague court. They were sentenced to life imprisonment. None of them filed appeals.

The court concluded that the perpetrators aimed to shoot down flight MH17 (although the investigation is still determining who specifically launched the missile from the Buk), not targeting a Ukrainian military aircraft. However, intent is not a mitigating circumstance.

In Moscow, such a court decision and verdict were called politically motivated.

Currently, all the accused are either in Russia or in territories of Ukraine seized by Russians, so their extradition was not demanded by the court, as "Russia does not extradite its citizens."

Victims of the Boeing 777 crash

All crew members and passengers perished in the plane crash.

Among them was, notably, Dutch professor (HIV researcher) Joep Marie Albert "Joep" Lange, who was traveling to an international conference.

Together with him, his wife and five children also perished.

Joep Marie Albert "Joep" Lange (illustration: facebook.com/victims.of.russia)

Malaysian actress Shuba Jayah, along with her husband Paul Goes and their one-year-old daughter, also perished.

The family was visiting the husband's parents in the Netherlands and was returning home.

Shuba Jayah with family (illustration: facebook.com/victims.of.russia)

Dutch Senator, lawyer, and political figure Willem Witteveen was flying to Malaysia for vacation.

He perished along with his wife Lidwien and daughter Marit.

Willem Witteveen (illustration: facebook.com/victims.of.russia)

Tessa van der Sande, a staff member at Amnesty International in the Netherlands, was also flying for vacation.

She perished along with her parents and brother.

Tessa van der Sande (illustration: facebook.com/victims.of.russia)

Stewardess Shazana Salleh had been working since 2004.

She had always dreamed of such a job and had a long journey to achieve her goal.

Shazana Salleh (illustration: facebook.com/victims.of.russia)

Commemorating victims

Following the tragedy near Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam in the Netherlands (from where the passenger plane departed on its final flight), a memorial complex for MH17 was established.

It is located near a forest and takes the form of a "ribbon" made of 298 trees, each planted by the relatives of those who perished.

MH17 Memorial Complex (illustration: monumentmh17.nl)

Within the memorial grounds is a structure shaped like a part of the aircraft with a window. Through it, one can see a sunflower field.

Ukrainian sunflowers in the Netherlands (illustration: monumentmh17.nl)

The plants were seeded with grains from Ukraine—specifically from the field where remnants of the Boeing were found.

The names of all the people who perished in the plane crash are engraved on a steel circle.

Names of the victims in the plane crash (illustration: monumentmh17.nl)

Relatives of the Boeing 777 disaster victims are also initiating the creation of an information center in the Netherlands in memory of the tragedy.

On July 17, 2024, in the Netherlands, an event was planned to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the MH17 crash, attended by their relatives, representatives of the "Aviation Disaster" fund, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, Prime Minister Dick Schoof, and representatives of governments and organizations from other countries, including Ukraine.

EU's address to Russia on 10th anniversary of tragedy

Against the backdrop of the 10th anniversary of the tragedy, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, issued a statement reminding of honoring the memory of 298 innocent people, including 80 children, representatives of 17 nationalities, who lost their lives in the MH17 flight downing.

The statement confirms that the responsibility for these deaths lies with the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

"The European Union emphasises that the evidence presented by the Joint Investigation Team in the proceedings before the Dutch District Court, and submitted to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), 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," the document states.

Wreckage of the downed MH17 plane in Donetsk region (photo: Getty Images)

It is clarified that "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 cooperate fully in serving justice.," the statement concludes.

Sources: Memorial: Killed by Russia platform page on Facebook, Nationaal Monument MH17, Suspilne Novyny, Council of the EU, Wikipedia.