"They flew into a war they had nothing to do with."
Eleven years ago, Russian forces shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine. All on board—nearly 300 people—were killed.
NeMoscow tells the story of how this air disaster—the largest of the 21st century—happened and what its consequences were.
1. On July 17, 2014, Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 departed Amsterdam for Kuala Lumpur. There were 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board, most of whom were Dutch citizens.
The plane flew over Eastern Europe and then, approximately three hours after takeoff, was hit by a 9M38 series missile fired from a Russian Buk air defense system (which was later confirmed by an international investigation) and broke into several pieces.
2. All on board were killed. The Boeing's wreckage crashed into the Donetsk region, in separatist-controlled territory.
On July 18, OSCE observers arrived at the crash site, but armed men impeded the search and rescue efforts. Later, "DPR" Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Purgin stated that the observers were not allowed to access the wreckage due to the lack of a joint ceasefire agreement with Ukraine in the area.
3. From the very beginning, Russian authorities denied the involvement of either the Russian military or separatists in the crash, and they pumped out various versions of what happened. However, all of them varied on one basic idea: the Malaysian plane was shot down by Ukrainian forces.
4. One of the most notorious legends is the story of "Spanish air traffic controller Carlos," who allegedly saw two Ukrainian military aircraft following flight MH17 on his work monitor at Kyiv's Boryspil Airport before it was shot down. Putin later mentioned this version in an interview with Oliver Stone. It was later revealed that "Carlos" was a certain Jose Sanchez, convicted of fraud. He claimed to have posed as the "air traffic controller" in exchange for a substantial monetary reward from RT (RT denies this).
5. The Joint Investigation Team has determined that flight MH17 was shot down near the village of Pervomaysky in the Snezhny district of Ukraine's Donetsk region by a Buk missile system brought into separatist territory from Russia and then returned. The Buk belonged to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces, permanently stationed in the village of Marshal Zhukov near Kursk.
6. Later, a court in The Hague ruled that the Boeing was shot down due to confusion with a military aircraft, but noted that this mistake did not diminish the intent and deliberate nature of the launch. Judge Hendrik Steenhuis, during his sentencing, stated that the missile launch was not accidental, as it could only have been carried out by a well-trained crew.
7. The court found the former "Minister of Defense" of the self-proclaimed "DPR" and retired FSB Colonel Igor Girkin (Strelkov), the former head of DPR military intelligence and retired GRU Colonel of the Russian General Staff Sergei Dubinsky, and Dubinsky's subordinate in DPR military intelligence, Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko, guilty of the downing of MH17 and the deaths of 298 people. They were sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment. A fourth defendant, Russian citizen Oleg Pulatov, was acquitted due to insufficient evidence.
8. On 9 July 2025, the European Court of Human Rights unanimously ruled that Russia was responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014. The court stated that Russia had failed to properly investigate the incident, failed to cooperate with authorities on requests for information, and failed to provide remedies to victims, causing further suffering to the victims' relatives.
The day before, Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia would not comply with any court decisions, declaring: “We consider them invalid.”
9. “The decision of the European Court of Human Rights is crystal clear: Russia is responsible for the downing of flight MH17 and the deaths of all people on board, including 196 Dutch citizens. <…> Russia is also responsible for the additional suffering caused to the next of kin through its persistent denial of any involvement and lack of cooperation. Nothing can alleviate the grief and suffering, but I hope this outcome will bring a sense of justice and recognition.”
Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp
10. "They were shot down in the sky by a Buk missile. It was supposed to be the vacation they dreamed of. But it turned into a nightmare. They flew into a war they had nothing to do with. Our family's life is ruined, and we are sentenced to life."
Rob Fredricks, the father of the deceased
"I will never forgive Russia and those responsible for the actions that led to the death of my parents. And for the actions they have taken since then—for their consistent attempts to spread lies."
Matthew Horder, son of the victims
Source: BBC