Russia found guilty of the ‘plane crash of the century’

Sentencing for Russia’s 11-year-old crime

When it comes to air disasters, many today may recall the Azerbaijani plane that crashed in Aktau after sustaining damage over Grozny, or the recent crash in India. Yet the downing of a Malaysian airliner in eastern Ukraine 11 years ago, allegedly by Russian-backed separatists, remains one of the most haunting tragedies in aviation history. On July 17, 2014, Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was allegedly shot down by Moscow-supported militants using a Russian-made missile. The Boeing 777 was flying over a village in eastern Ukraine when it was struck, killing all 298 passengers and crew on board. No one survived. The vast majority of those killed—196 people—were Dutch nationals. This is one reason the incident has remained at the forefront of global attention for over a decade. Numerous investigations and court proceedings have taken place since then, seeking justice for the victims. It is uncertain whether the case would have received such international scrutiny if most of the victims had been Malaysian. Nonetheless, 11 years later, the families of those lost have achieved, at least in part, a symbolic victory—some measure of justice and closure. Today, we look back at July 17, 2014, to recall and reflect on the events of that tragic day. How did the deadliest aviation disaster of the 21st century—until the recent crash in India—unfold? Who was responsible? And who was behind the perpetrators?

How did the incident happen?

On the morning of July 17, 2014, at 10:31 a.m., Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 took off from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport bound for Kuala Lumpur. It was a routine, scheduled flight carrying 15 crew members and 283 passengers—298 people in total. Among them were 193 Dutch citizens. The flight path passed over Ukrainian airspace, including the eastern regions where intense fighting was taking place between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists. By that time, Crimea had already been annexed by Russia, and the conflict in eastern Ukraine was escalating. MH17 was cruising at an altitude of around 10,000 meters, in line with altitude restrictions set by Ukrainian aviation authorities. On that same day, a Ukrainian military transport plane had been shot down while flying at a lower altitude—raising concerns that the skies over the region were unsafe, even for civilian aircraft.

Flight MH17 was not alone in the air that day. Three other foreign passenger planes were flying within the same radar control sector at around the same time. As MH17 neared the Russian border, it maintained communication with air traffic controllers in Dnipro (formerly Dnepropetrovsk) and Rostov-on-Don. However, at 1:20 p.m., radio contact suddenly ceased. No emergency signal was sent. Just before 1:26 p.m., the aircraft disappeared from radar. Eyewitnesses reported seeing an explosion in the sky. Debris from the aircraft was later found scattered over a 50-square-kilometer area. The largest parts of the wreckage landed in fields and villages near Khrabove, in the Horlivka district of Donetsk region—then under separatist control. Rescue teams quickly reached the scene, but there were no survivors. All 298 people onboard were killed, including the 15 crew members and passengers from nearly a dozen nationalities.

Following the crash, separatist forces reportedly handed over the aircraft’s voice and flight data recorders—commonly referred to as black boxes—to Malaysian officials. However, the ongoing conflict in the region severely hampered the investigation. A Dutch military-led mission did not gain access to the crash site until November, more than three months after the tragedy.

11-year investigation

Initial investigators analyzed recorded data and debris from the crash site. The plane's fuselage—its main body—was partially reconstructed to aid the investigation. Early possibilities such as adverse weather, pilot error, mechanical failure, or an onboard fire or explosion were ruled out. Ultimately, investigators concluded that the crash was caused by the detonation of a Russian-made surface-to-air missile known as the Buk, or SA-11. Although the missile could not directly strike an aircraft at the cruising altitude of Flight 17, its warhead exploded just a few feet from the aircraft. The resulting shrapnel pierced the fuselage, killing the cockpit crew instantly and shearing off the plane’s front section. The wings, passenger cabin, and tail then separated mid-air, falling to the ground over the course of at least one minute.

Immediately after the incident, the Ukrainian government released intercepted audio recordings in which pro-Russian separatists allegedly admitted to shooting down the plane. The separatists and their Russian backers denied responsibility. Russia later vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have established a special tribunal to prosecute those responsible. In September 2016, a Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) presented evidence indicating that the missile had been transported from Russia into separatist-held territory in eastern Ukraine. The following year, prosecutors announced that any suspects would be tried under Dutch jurisdiction. However, the extradition of the accused individuals was not possible. Nevertheless, on June 19, 2019, Dutch prosecutors formally charged four suspects—three Russians and one Ukrainian—in connection with the downing of Flight 17. All were allegedly involved in the Russian-backed military operation in eastern Ukraine. Three of the Russian suspects were reported to have ties to Russian intelligence agencies. The most prominent among them was Igor Girkin, described by prosecutors as a former colonel in Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

Girkin reportedly commanded Russian-backed forces in Donetsk and returned to Russia shortly after the crash. The Dutch investigation team maintains that it has “conclusive evidence that Russia provided the missile launcher” used to shoot down the airliner. In November 2022, a Dutch court found Girkin and two others guilty of murder. The court also determined that the missile had originated in Russia and was fired by Russian-led forces operating in occupied Ukrainian territory.

Fair verdict for an 11-year crime

On July 9, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued a ruling in four cases brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands, accusing Russia of more than a decade of atrocities committed in Ukraine. The ECHR judges found Russia guilty of widespread violations of international law, including murder, torture, rape, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and the abduction of Ukrainian children following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Among the charges, the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was prominently featured as one of Russia’s gravest air-related offenses. The crash, which occurred over Donetsk in 2014, has been the subject of ongoing international legal battles for nearly 11 years. The court’s 501-page ruling also noted that Russia’s refusal to participate in the proceedings constituted a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights, which forms the legal basis for the ECHR’s authority. When asked about the verdict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “Russia will not comply with it.” For the families of the 298 victims of Flight MH17, the ruling marks a significant milestone in their long struggle for justice. The court also found that Russia’s continued denial of involvement in the downing of the airliner represents a further breach of international law.

Until recently, it was the ‘plane crash of the century’

Throughout history, numerous aviation disasters have occurred, many of them in the 20th century—a period marked by limited aviation safety measures. Among these were the 1985 crash of an Indian aircraft over Ireland that claimed 329 lives, and the 1974 crash of a Turkish plane near Paris that killed 346. However, the deadliest aviation disasters of the 20th century occurred in Japan in 1985 and in the Canary Islands in 1977. The crash in Japan resulted in 505 fatalities, while the catastrophic runway collision in the Canary Islands remains the worst aviation accident in history, with 583 lives lost.

Despite the significant technological advancements of the 21st century, airspace has not become completely safe. Although the number of aviation fatalities has decreased compared to previous decades, the skies have not been free from tragedy. In the first quarter of the 21st century, the world witnessed several serious air crashes. Among them, the most catastrophic—for many years—was the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over Donetsk, as discussed above. Russia, which was also accused of shooting down an Azerbaijani aircraft seven months ago, remained the main suspect in the MH17 case for years. Ultimately, it was officially found guilty of causing what many have called the "plane crash of the century."

Until 2025, no other aviation disaster this century had resulted in as many fatalities as Flight MH17’s 298 deaths—excluding, of course, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which stand in a category of their own. However, on June 12 of this year, a devastating crash occurred in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Of the 241 people aboard the aircraft, only one survived. In addition, 35 people were killed in a nearby student dormitory struck by the falling plane—bringing the total death toll to 316. That tragedy has now surpassed the MH17 disaster in terms of loss of life, making it the deadliest aviation accident of the 21st century to date.