The United States reaffirmed on Wednesday its commitment to bringing to justice those responsible for the downing of a commercial plane with 298 people on board in eastern Ukraine, hit ten years ago by a missile.
"We reaffirm our commitment to justice for the passengers of flight MH-17 whose lives were senselessly interrupted", stressed the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, quoted in a press release marking the anniversary.
In 2022, the Hague District Court found three pro-Russian members in eastern Ukraine guilty for their role in shooting down the plane, Blinken recalled.
The head of US diplomacy recalled that "although this is an important step, there is more work ahead to ensure that all those responsible for the crash of MH17 are held accountable and that some measure of justice is achieved for the 298 innocent passengers and crew who lost life on July 17, 2014".
Blinken also recalled that marking the 10th anniversary of the tragedy occurs "in the shadow of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, which continues to impose brutal costs on the Ukrainian people."
"The United States remains committed to holding Russia accountable for war crimes committed during the war against Ukraine and to supporting Ukraine in defending its territory," he assured.
Kyiv on Wednesday also demanded responsibility from Russia for the downing of a commercial plane with 298 people on board by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, who fired a missile at Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 ten years ago.
"It is inevitable that Russia will respond to this atrocity. All those guilty of this and other Russian crimes will undoubtedly be faced with the sentences they deserve", said the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, on his account on the social network X.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also censured Russia for not having so far admitted its responsibility for the downing of the plane, and following the conviction in absentia in 2022 by the Dutch courts of two Russian soldiers and a commander of the Russian-speaking separatist forces of the eastern Ukrainian.
Russia accused the Ukrainian Army of bringing down the device and has refused to accept the judicial decision and hand over those convicted.
"In the ten years since that tragic day, the Russian Federation has not had the courage to admit its responsibility, to apologize to the families of the victims and the affected countries, and to pay compensation," Ukrainian diplomacy said in a statement.
The ministry headed by Dmitro Kuleba also criticized Russia for having launched "a systematic disinformation campaign to evade its responsibility".
The shooting down of flight MH17, which had departed Amsterdam towards Kuala Lumpur, killed all 298 people on board.
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