Thursday

28th Mar 2024

MH17 culprits still not identified, one year on

  • After the crash, the bodies of the victims were driven through the Netherlands (Photo: Edith Zwagerman)

Friday (17 July) will mark one year since the MH17 disaster in east Ukraine, but an investigation into the cause has not yet identified who shot it down.

US broadcaster CNN reported on Wednesday that a draft version of a Dutch investigative report into the events points to pro-Russian rebels as being responsible.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • Commemorative sign in Malaysia (Photo: Sonia)

The news outlet based its story on one source it said has seen the draft report of the Dutch Safety Board, which is leading the probe.

Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant on Thursday nuanced the CNN story. Based on multiple sources in the Dutch government, the paper notes the draft report does not yet include complete proof.

“The report only states that the plane was downed by a [Russian-made] Buk missile. But not where that missile came from, or who pushed the button”, one source told the paper.

On 17 July 2014, Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 from Amsterdam crashed on its way to Kuala Lumpur, in the Ukrainian region Donetsk, a scene of heavy fighting between the Ukrainian army and Russia’s hybrid forces.

All 298 people on board the plane died. Two-thirds of them were Dutch.

The disaster marked a turning point in the conflict, when EU states imposed far-reaching economic sanctions on Russia.

The measures were recently refreshed until January next year.

But the dispute over MH17 remains central to the dossier, and could impact future sanctions decisions.

Although several witnesses have pointed to the Russian side, Russia denies responsibility and its media have sowed consipracy theories blaming Ukraine.

The Dutch government, together with its counterparts from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, and Ukraine, have been unable to persuade Russia to agree to the set-up of an international tribunal to prosecute the perpetrators.

On Wednesday, the Russian foreign ministry repeated that an MH17 tribunal would be “counter-productive”. Russia can stop such a United Nations' tribunal with its veto in the UN Security Council (UNSC).

Possibly next Tuesday (21 July), the UNSC will vote on the tribunal.

Meanwhile, Russian state news agency Tass reported that, according to a Russian investigation committee, the missile which shot down MH17 was “not Russian-made”.

In a press statement, the Dutch Safety Board noted the “draft final report is confidential” for the time being and that it will not comment.

It expects to publish the final report by mid-October 2015.

EU foreign policy faces test after MH17 shootdown

EU foreign policy is facing a major test today as ministers gather in Brussels to consider their response to the suspected downing of the Malaysia Airlines flight by Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine.

US and EU breaking taboos to restrain Israel

The US abstained and all EU states on the UN Security Council backed a call for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza, as Europe prepares to also blacklist extremist Israeli settlers.

Opinion

Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Rather than assuming a pro-European Labour government in London will automatically open doors in Brussels, the Labour party needs to consider what it may be able to offer to incentivise EU leaders to factor the UK into their defence thinking.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us