Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 Crash: Russian Missile Downed Plane in Ukraine, 3 Men Punished for 2014 Tragedy

Three men were given life sentences by a Dutch court on Thursday for the 2014 taking down of a Malaysian Airlines flight over eastern Ukraine, which resulted in the deaths of 298 people.

The court further determined that a Russian missile was to blame for the attack. Presiding judge Hendrik Steenhuis stated, "The court is of the conclusion that MH17 was brought down by the fire of a BUK missile from a farm field near Pervomaisk, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew members."

Court Convicts 3 of Murder For MH17 Downed In Ukraine

Only three of the four suspects-two Russians and one pro-Russian Ukrainian-were convicted for the crime on Thursday. Due to a lack of evidence, the second suspect was declared innocent, according to Fox News.

The three men, who were not present for the ruling, can appeal the court's decision. The ruling helps bring a close to an eight-year-long case that captured the world's attention after a civilian flight traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014, was shot down while flying over eastern Ukraine.

The catastrophe happened only a few months after Russia invaded Ukraine, took control of Crimea, and caused unrest in the country's eastern areas. According to reports, the rocket was fired by the three suspects from an agricultural area in the so-called Donetsk People's Republic.

The trial marks the conclusion of a protracted pursuit for justice for the accident victims, who were from 10 different nations and included 196 Dutch, 43 Malaysians, and 38 Australians. When a BUK missile detonated close to the cockpit on July 17, 2014, Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was travelling at 33,000 feet (10,000 meters) above the conflict-torn eastern Ukraine, shattering the jet into pieces.

The disaster left victims and debris all across Ukraine's renowned sunflower fields, sparking outrage throughout the world and sanctions against Moscow. Some victims, including youngsters, had their seatbelts on, as per NDTV. Judges determined that Girkin, Dubinsky, and Kharchenko may all be held accountable for moving the missile from a Russian military installation to the launch location, even if they were acting in good faith.

Oleg Pulatov was the only suspect who had legal representation during the trial, and they claimed that there was not enough evidence to prove his participation. All of the accused were from the Donetsk People's Republic, an armed opposition force against the Ukrainian government that courts determined was under the direct authority of Russia.

Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 Plane Crash

The Russian-made missile that struck the jet was fired from a territory under Moscow's control, according to the Dutch court's ruling. The court further said that the airframe of MH17 as well as victim corpses had BUK missile pieces stuck in them.

Per Telegraph via MSN, three hours had passed since MH17's departure from Amsterdam for Kuala Lumpur when aircraft was shot down. Their remains and the wreckage were dispersed over many square kilometers of rural terrain that was under the hands of rebels led by Russia who were at war with the Ukrainian government.

Initially taking responsibility for downing a Ukrainian military plane, the separatists eventually recanted when it became obvious the plane was a civilian one. But international investigators found in 2018 that the aircraft was shot down by a Russia army air-defense unit operating within separatist-controlled territory.

Russia has never claimed responsibility and says Ukraine shot down the aircraft, however various mutually contradictory explanations it has presented have subsequently been proven incorrect. Moscow has disregarded repeated requests from the victims' relatives to be transparent. The trial signals the end of a protracted pursuit for justice for the victims of MH17, when legal procedures finally began in 2020.

The Bellingcat investigative agency used open-source data, including images provided on social media by soldiers and civilians, to validate that discovery and prove that the weapon used was a BUK SA-11. The team followed its path from the launch location in occupied territory over the Russian border to Russia. A Dutch-led police investigation that built the dossier of information leading to today's decision supported those and other media inquiries.

Detectives from the Netherlands, Ukraine, Malaysia, Australia, and Belgium spent years questioning witnesses, searching the scene for wreckage, and examining many images, videos, and audio recordings in order to piece together the exact sequence of events.

The BUK 9M38 surface-to-air missile in issue was found to have originated in Russia and been fired from separatist territory there in 2016, according to the findings of the investigators. The crime was linked to the regular Russian military forces and eventually the Kremlin when investigators discovered that the missile and launcher came from Russia's 53rd anti-aircraft brigade, which is stationed close to the city of Kursk.