The Downing of MH 17, One Year Later
Friday, July 17th, 2015July 17, 2015
Today is the one-year anniversary of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. Commemorative services are being held in Australia, the Netherlands, and Ukraine for the 298 people killed on July 17, 2014, when their plane was shot down in a war zone over eastern Ukraine. Of the passengers who died, nearly 200 were Dutch (the plane had taken off from Amsterdam), and nearly 40 were Australian.
Beginning in early 2014, Ukraine’s Western-backed central government and eastern separatists allied with Russia were in an armed conflict. Separatists had threatened Ukrainian planes that flew over the air space they considered to be theirs. In the week before MH17 was shot down, separatists had used missiles to attack Ukrainian military jets. Almost immediately after MH17 was downed, social media accounts linked to the rebels showed posts claiming they had shot down a Ukrainian plane. These posts were quickly deleted.

Members of the Ukrainian Emergency Ministry carry a body at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 on July 19, 2014. Ukraine accused Russia and pro-Moscow rebels of destroying evidence of “international crimes” from the wreckage of the Malaysian airliner.
Credit: © Maxim Zmeyev, Reuters/Landov
Within days of the incident, American intelligence officials blamed pro-Russian separatists for downing the plane with advanced antiaircraft missiles supplied by Russia. Most international experts now feel the evidence does point in that direction. Russia and the separatists deny attacking the plane. Originally, Russia claimed that the Ukrainian government had fired missiles downing the plane. Later, Russia claimed that a Ukrainian military jet was responsible. However, the satellite images that supported both of these claims were publicly shown to have been doctored.
It has been difficult for family members of those who died on Flight MH17 to obtain justice for their loved ones. In the initial days following the crash, Russian separatists refused to allow investigators into the site. Consequently, the crime site was never handled properly.
This week, the government of Malaysia requested that the United Nations (UN) form an international tribunal to prosecute those responsible for shooting MH17 down. Australia supported this request. However, Russia is a permanent member of the UN security council, and the nation’s veto blocks proposals with which it disagrees.
Other World Book articles:
- Aviation (2014-a Back in time article)
- Malaysia (2014-a Back in time article)
- Ukraine (2014-a Back in time article)