REUTERS

On the fourth anniversary of the shooting down of MH17, UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt remembers those who died in the attack and calls for the Russian Federation to account for its role in this crime.

"Thanks to the painstaking work of the Joint Investigation Team over the past 4 years, we now know that MH17 was shot down by a Russian Buk-type missile, belonging to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Military Brigade of the Russian army which was launched from an area held by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. This is another example of the Russian Federation's disregard for human life and the rules based international system and Russia must answer for its actions," Hunt said in a statement on the fourth anniversary of MH17.

"The UK fully supports Australia and the Netherlands in their call on the Russian Federation to accept state responsibility, and to cooperate with them in their efforts to deliver justice for the victims of this tragedy. The UK will continue to fully support the work of the Joint Investigation Team and the UK calls on the Russian Federation to cooperate fully with investigation and to provide any assistance it requests in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 2166. It is vital this investigation leads to a prosecution and that those responsible are held accountable for this appalling crime," he said.

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UNIAN memo. Malaysia Airlines' MH17 Boeing 777 heading from Amsterdam for Kuala Lumpur was shot down on July 17, 2014, over militant-occupied territory in Donetsk region. All 298 people on board who were citizens of 10 countries were killed in the crash. The majority of the victims, 196, were citizens of the Netherlands.

The Dutch Safety Board October 13, 2015, issued a report on the causes of the accident. It was revealed that the plane had been shot down by a Buk anti-aircraft missile system. The Joint Investigation Team in its report published on September 28, 2016, confirmed that the plane had been downed by a Russian-made Buk brought to Ukraine from Russia.

No suspects have been named, though Dutch Chief Prosecutor Fred Westerbeke said his office had identified 100 "persons of interest" in the investigation, including those who organized the arrival of the rocket and oversaw its transportation from Russia to Ukraine and back.

The Criminal Investigation into the tragedy is carried out by the Joint Investigative Team (JIT), which includes representatives from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine. The countries participating in the investigation of the MH17 crash agreed not to create a separate tribunal and decided that the perpetrators would be brought before the Dutch court.

On July 7, 2017, Ukraine and the Netherlands signed an agreement on the establishment of legal grounds for the consideration of the said case.

On May 25, Australia and the Netherlands formally accused Russia of being responsible for downing a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet in 2014.