The European Union has called on the Russian Federation to accept its responsibility for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Russia-occupied Donbas in July 2014.
"On 17 July, we commemorate the sixth anniversary of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, when 298 people of 17 different nationalities lost their lives. The European Union continues to feel deep sympathy for all those who lost their loved ones," High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell said on July 16 in a declaration on behalf of the EU on the sixth anniversary of the downing.
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The European Union says it reiterates its full support for all efforts to establish the truth, achieving justice for the 298 victims of the downing of Flight MH17 and their next of kin and holding those responsible to account, in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2166.
"Recalling its previous statements, the European Union takes note of all steps that have been taken in this regard and expects Russia to accept its responsibility and to fully cooperate with efforts to establish accountability," the declaration said.
UNIAN memo. Malaysia Airlines' MH17 Boeing 777 heading from Amsterdam for Kuala Lumpur was shot down on July 17, 2014, over Russia-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 (JIT) 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.
On June 19, 2019, JIT investigators accused four Russia-controlled military intelligence officers of involvement in a missile attack that shot down MH17. The first four suspects in the MH17 case are Russian terrorist Igor Girkin (AKA "Strelkov"), who in the summer of 2014 was the so-called "Minister of Defense of the Donetsk People's Republic" ("DPR"); Russian General Sergei Dubinsky (nom de guerre "Khmuryi"), who led the "DPR intelligence;" Oleg Pulatov (nom de guerre "Gyurza"), who in 2014 headed of "the 2nd division of the GRU of the DPR;" as well as Leonid Kharchenko (nom de guerre "Krot"), who was a leader of the "reconnaissance battalion" of Russia-led forces.
The MH17 trial process began on March 9, 2020.
