Netherlands commemorates 10th anniversary of MH17 airline disaster

AMSTERDAM - The Netherlands commemorated the 298 victims of flight MH17 that was shot down over Ukraine 10 years ago with a ceremony attended by the bereaved and representatives from Malaysia, Australia, the UK, Belgium and Ukraine.

Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, as fighting raged between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces, the precursor of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

All passengers and crew on board, including 196 Dutch citizens, were killed, leaving the plane's wreckage and the remains of the victims scattered across fields of corn and sunflowers.

During the ceremony, which took place at the MH17 monument in the village of Vijfhuizen near Amsterdam, loved ones read out loud the names of all the victims.

Mark Rutte, who was Prime Minister when the disaster happened and a Putin critic ever since, was thanked and applauded for his efforts during his time in office.

Based on an international investigation, a Dutch court in 2022 said there was no doubt that the plane was shot down by a Russian missile system and that Russia had "overall control" over the forces of the Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine from mid-May 2014.

The court convicted two former Russian intelligence agents and a Ukrainian separatist leader in absentia of murder for their role in the transport into Ukraine of the Russian military BUK missile system that was used to shoot down the plane.

"Justice requires a long, long breath," said Prime Minister Dick Schoof, who took office earlier this month, adding that "a conviction is not the same as having someone behind bars".

Moscow denies any involvement or responsibility for MH17's downing and in 2014 it also denied any presence in Ukraine, but the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday called on Russia to finally accept its responsibility.

"The evidence presented 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," Borrell said.

"No Russian disinformation operation can distract from these basic facts, established by a court of law."

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