MH17 crash in Ukraine: EU says Dutch verdict an important first step on the path of truth and accountability

The EU has reiterated its call for Russia to accept responsibility and fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation following the Dutch court ruling on the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17.

On 17 November, two Russians and one Ukrainian were found guilty (in absentia) of shooting down a passenger airplane over eastern Ukraine in 2014, killing 298 people, and were sentenced to life in jail. A third Russian was acquitted.

“More than eight years ago, the EU deplored the loss of so many innocent lives and voiced our shock with reports of the circumstances surrounding the shooting down of a Malaysian Airlines Flight on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur over Ukrainian territory,” said EU High Representative Josep Borrell.

He added the verdict by the Dutch court was “an important first step on the path of truth and accountability”, and that the criminal investigation into the involvement of other individuals was still ongoing, just like the proceedings against the Russian state at the European Court for Human Rights and the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

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