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Agence France-Presse

Five years ago on Wednesday, Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was blasted out of the sky over war-torn eastern Ukraine with the loss of all 298 people on board.
The shooting down of the Boeing 777 travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur has prompted sanctions against Russia, a series of international investigations and criminal charges.
What happened?
About three hours after take-off on July 17, 2014 from Schiphol airport, MH17 disappeared off the radar screens as it passed over part of eastern Ukraine held by pro-Russian rebels, where there had been conflict for months.

Wreckage rained down on fields near the village of Grabove, leaving the bodies of men, women and children – some still strapped into their seats – strewn across local sunflower fields.
Of the 283 passengers, 196 were Dutch and 38 Australian. There were 15 crew.
The tragedy was the second in the space of a few months for Malaysia Airlines after the disappearance of flight MH370.
How did the world react?
The shooting down of MH17 sparked international outrage.
Then-US president Barack Obama blamed a Russian-made BUK surface-to-air missile system and stressed that it was fired from territory controlled by separatists. Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko called it a “terrorist act”.
Moscow immediately disputed their claims and offered an array of competing theories, including that the Boeing was shot down by a Ukrainian fighter jet or a Ukrainian BUK.

Western nations slapped stinging sanctions on Russia after the incident, toughening measures imposed after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014.
The European Union extended the sanctions last month, urging Russia to cooperate with the investigation.
What have the investigations found?
Dutch-led investigations into the disaster over the past five years have meticulously narrowed down the cause of the disaster, and the culprits.
The Dutch Safety Board said in September 2014 MH17 broke apart after being hit by numerous “high speed objects”.
In August 2015 it said it had identified large fragments “probably” from a BUK surface-air-missile system, which is possessed by both Moscow and Kiev.

In October of the same year it concluded that the plane was shot down by a missile fired from eastern Ukraine which exploded “outside the aeroplane against the left-hand side of the cockpit”.
A criminal Joint Investigation Team (JIT) of five countries led by the Dutch then took over the probe, and in September 2016 they said they had “irrefutable evidence” that a BUK missile was used and came from the “territory of the Russian Federation”.
In May 2018 investigators said for the first time that the missile originated from the 53rd Russian military brigade based in Kursk in western Russia.




The Netherlands and Australia then said that they held Russia responsible for the shooting down of MH17.
Who has been charged?
The JIT on June 19 charged four people – Russians Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinskiy and Oleg Pulatov, and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko – with murder. All are linked to the separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.
They will be tried from March 9 next year in the Netherlands at a high-security courthouse near Schiphol Airport.
However, it is unlikely that any of the men will be present at the trial as neither Russia nor Ukraine allows its citizens to be extradited.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the investigation showed “no proof” of Moscow’s guilt.
What happens next?
The JIT has said it will investigate other suspects, particularly those in the “chain of command” of the BUK, and the four-member crew that operated the missile that downed MH17.
Separately, hundreds of relatives have asked the European Court of Human Rights based in Strasbourg to recognised Russia’s responsibility for the crash. Russia has until late summer to respond.


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Malaysian Airlines flight MH17: five questions answered, five years on

Workers transport a piece of the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine. Photo: Reuters

FILE PHOTO: Forensic experts look at a makeshift marker denoting evidence during recovery work at the site of the downed Malaysian airliner MH17 near the village of Rozsypne in the Donetsk region August 4, 2014. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo PLEASE SEARCH "FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DOWNING OF MALAYSIA AIRLINES MH17" FOR ALL PICTURES.

FILE PHOTO: An armed pro-Russian separatist stands on part of the wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane after it crashed near the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region, July 17, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev/File Photo PLEASE SEARCH "FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DOWNING OF MALAYSIA AIRLINES MH17" FOR ALL PICTURES. PLEASE SEARCH "FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DOWNING OF MALAYSIA AIRLINES MH17" FOR ALL PICTURES.

FILE PHOTO: The reconstructed wreckage of the MH17 airplane is seen after the presentation of the final report into the crash of July 2014 of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine, in Gilze Rijen, the Netherlands, October 13, 2015. REUTERS/Michael Kooren/File Photo PLEASE SEARCH "FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DOWNING OF MALAYSIA AIRLINES MH17" FOR ALL PICTURES.

‘No, of course not’: Vladimir Putin rejects Dutch, Australia claims of Russia role in MH17 crash

President Vladimir Putin has rejected claims from the Dutch and Australian government that Russia was behind the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 in 2014. Photo: AP

epa06762372 (FILE) - Ukrainian workers inspect debris at the main crash site of the Boeing 777 Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which crashed over the eastern Ukraine region, near Grabovo, some 100 km east of Donetsk, Ukraine, 20 July 2014 (reissued 25 May 2018). Australia and The Netherlands on 25 May 2018, have formally accused Russia of being responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines' Boeing 777 plane flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, over eastern Ukraine in July 2014, resulting in the death of 298 people. EPA-EFE/IGOR KOVALENKO *** Local Caption *** 51489738

Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop attends a joint press conference of Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and the French President Emmanuel Macron at Kirribilli House in Sydney on May 2, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / SAEED KHAN

epa06762374 (FILE) - Part of the wreckage at the main crash site of the Boeing 777 Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which crashed over the eastern Ukraine region, near Grabovo, some 100 km east of Donetsk, Ukraine, 20 July 2014 (reissued 25 May 2018). Australia and The Netherlands on 25 May 2018, have formally accused Russia of being responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines' Boeing 777 plane flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, over eastern Ukraine in July 2014, resulting in the death of 298 people. EPA-EFE/IGOR KOVALENKO *** Local Caption *** 51489718

Three Russians and one Ukrainian to be charged for murder in Netherlands over shooting down of MH17 flight

Silene Fredriksz, whose son was killed on the MH17 crash, speaks to reporters. Photo: AFP

Silene Fredriksz, mother of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 victim, speaks to reporters, in Nieuwegein, Netherlands, June 19, 2019. REUTERS/Eva Plevier

Malaysia Airlines’ future hangs in the balance as Mahathir Mohamad’s government weighs four proposals to save carrier

Four proposals have been received, mostly from local companies, who have offered to either buy a stake in Malaysia Airlines or manage it. Photo: Reuters

09 July 2019, Malaysia, Putrajaya: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks during a joint dialogue session with industry chiefs at the Technical and Vocational Training Education Conference (TVET). Photo: Harry Salzman/BERNAMA/dpa

MH17 disaster: Mahathir Mohamad claims Russia was scapegoated for Malaysia Airlines plane crash that left 298 people dead

Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad. Photo: EPA-EFE

Flight MH17 investigation shows ‘no proof’ that Russia was behind attack, says Russian President Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during an annual nationwide televised phone-in show in Moscow. Photo: Reuters

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

World

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The shooting down of a Boeing 777 travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014 left 298 passengers dead
In the years since, there have been sanctions, international investigations and criminal charges – but has justice been served?


The shooting down of a Boeing 777 travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur in 2014 left 298 people dead and has prompted sanctions, international investigations and criminal charges.


Malaysia Airlines flight 17

Plane crashes and aviation accidents

Aviation