VIJFHUIZEN, Netherlands — Relatives of passengers and crew killed when Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over Ukraine gathered on Wednesday to mark the 10th anniversary of the tragedy that claimed 298 lives, over half of whom were Dutch.
Families of the victims blamed Russian-backed rebels for the missile that took down the plane, but Moscow has repeatedly denied responsibility. In 2022, a Dutch court convicted in absentia two Russians and a Ukrainian separatist for their role in the jet’s downing.
Commemoration services took place in the Netherlands, Australia and the site of the crash in the Russia-controlled part of the Donetsk region, as the war in Ukraine raged on.
Hundreds of family members - set to read out the names of all the victims - joined the Dutch king, politicians and diplomats at an event at a memorial in the Netherlands close to Schiphol, the airport the Kuala Lumpur-bound Boeing 777 departed from on July 17, 2014.
Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus represented his country at the Dutch memorial site, where 298 trees were planted to commemorate each victim and sunflowers, like those that grew at the crash site, were sowed.
“Today we remain unwavering in our determination to ensure truth, justice and accountability for the victims and their loved ones,” Dreyfus said.
Many of the families arriving for the service also carried sunflowers, laying them next to trees. Flags of the countries that lost citizens hung at half-staff next to a field of blooming sunflowers.
Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof quoted a poem on loss called “Come Back” by Toon Tellegen and pledged to keep on the fight to hold accountable those responsible.
“And I know it too: justice takes time,” he said. “But we have the time. And the patience. And the perseverance. That is my message to the guilty parties, and my promise to you.”
The ceremony in Australia was held at the Parliament House in Canberra.
“I don’t think anyone intended to bring down a passenger plane. So in that sense, I’m heartbroken that the (Ukraine) conflict continues,” Paul Guard told Australian Broadcasting Corp. His parents, Roger and Jill Guard were among 38 Australian citizens and permanent residents killed.
“But I think that a lot of families would really have just liked an acknowledgment that what happened was wrong and that Russia should not have been waging war,” the son added.
At the crash site in the village of Hrabov, several dozen local residents brought flowers, stuffed animals and even a model airplane to a small memorial stone installed in a field near where some of the wreckage was found. Some struggled to hold back tears, recalling the explosion that shattered windows in their homes and bodies falling from the sky. “It hurts,” one woman said. “I feel sorry for the people.”
At the time, a Soviet-era Buk surface-to-air missile was fatefully launched from a pro-Russia rebel-held border region. Much of the debris landed in fields that are currently under the Russian military’s control.
“Although the court formally found Russian puppets guilty, the Kremlin authorities led by Putin and his accomplices are behind this crime,” Ukraine’s General Staff said in a statement published on Facebook.
Russia continues to be pursued under international law by the Netherlands in the European Court of Human Rights and by Australia and the Netherlands jointly through the International Civil Aviation Organization Council, or ICAO, over its alleged role in bringing down MH17.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told Wednesday’s service in Canberra that she was “appalled” that Russia had withdrawn from the ICAO proceedings in June.
“The case will continue and we will not be deterred in our commitment to hold Russia to account,” Wong told the gathering that included foreign diplomats.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on Wong’s remarks, reiterating that Moscow’s position on the matter is “well known.” He said: “No arguments from the Russian side were taken into account, we did not participate in the investigation, and therefore our attitude to these conclusions is well known.”
Russian political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin said that in Russia, the downing of the MH17 was at first subjected to an “unscrupulous, unbridled propaganda game - with straight-up lies,” and now “they try not to talk about it at all.”
“Ten years have passed, and in Russia, I believe, nothing (is being said) about this,” Oreshkin told The Associated Press in an interview from Riga, Latvia.
The Netherlands was home to 196 of the victims while 38 hailed from Australia. Victims also came from Malaysia, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, the Philippines, Canada, New Zealand, Vietnam, Israel, Italy, Romania, the United States and South Africa.
An international investigation initiated in the U.N. Security Council by the Netherlands, Malaysia and Australia concluded that the Buk missile system that destroyed MH17 belonged to the Russian 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade. The investigation concluded the missile was driven into Ukraine from a Russian military base near the city of Kursk and returned there after the plane was shot down.
Malaysia reiterated its commitment to seek justice and hold those responsible for the tragedy accountable.
“The Government of Malaysia is resolute that the process must pursue truth, justice and accountability,” the transport ministry said in a statement.
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McGuirk reported from Melbourne, Australia.
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