Malaysia Airlines Flight 17#Russian media coverage

Flight 17, which was also marketed as KLM Flight 4103 (KL4103) through a codeshare agreement,{{cite web |url=http://news.klm.com/en/incident-with-malaysia-airlines-flight-mh017-e/ |title=Statement about Malaysia Airlines MH17 |date=17 July 2014 |website=KLM |access-date=18 July 2014}} was operated with a Boeing 777-2H6ER,{{efn|The aircraft is a Boeing 777-200ER (for Extended Range) model; Boeing assigns a unique customer code for each company that buys one of its aircraft, which is incorporated into the model number when the aircraft is built. The code for Malaysia Airlines is "H6", hence "777-2H6ER".}} serial number 28411, registration 9M-MRD.{{Reference page|page=30}} Powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 892 engines and carrying 280 seats (33 business and 247 economy), the aircraft had recorded more than 76,300 hours in 11,430 cycles before the crash.{{Reference page|page=30}} The aircraft was in an airworthy condition at departure.{{Reference page|page=31}}

The Boeing 777, which entered commercial service on 7 June 1995, has one of the best safety records among commercial aircraft.{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/07/17/boeing-777-safe-track-record/12786181/ |title=Boeing 777 has excellent track record, experts say |first=Larry |last=Copeland |date=17 July 2014 |newspaper=USA Today |access-date=24 July 2014}} In June 2014, there were about 1,212 aircraft in service, with 340 more on order.{{cite web |url=http://active.boeing.com/commercial/orders/displaystandardreport.cfm?cboCurrentModel=777&optReportType=AllModels&cboAllModel=777&ViewReportF=View+Report |title=777 Model Orders and Deliveries summary |website=Boeing |date=June 2014 |access-date=18 July 2014 |archive-date=31 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031013801/http://active.boeing.com/commercial/orders/displaystandardreport.cfm?cboCurrentModel=777&optReportType=AllModels&cboAllModel=777&ViewReportF=View+Report |url-status=dead }}

The incident is the deadliest airliner shoot-down incident to date.{{cite news |url=http://www.financialexpress.com/news/malaysia-airlines-mh17-shot-down-top-5-deadliest-attacks-on-airliners/1271130 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140724103623/http://www.financialexpress.com/news/malaysia-airlines-mh17-shot-down-top-5-deadliest-attacks-on-airliners/1271130|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 July 2014|title=Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17: Top 5 deadliest airliner shootdowns |date=18 July 2014 |agency=Reuters |newspaper=The Financial Express |access-date=22 July 2014}} Source: Flightglobal Ascend. All 283 passengers and 15 crew died.{{Reference page|page=27}} By 19 July, the airline had determined the nationalities of all 298 passengers and crew.

The crew were all Malaysian, while over two-thirds (68%) of the passengers were Dutch. Most of the other passengers were Malaysians and Australians; the remainder were citizens of seven other countries.{{Reference page|page=27}} At least twenty family groups were on the aircraft, and eighty passengers were under the age of 18.{{cite news |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/south-east-asia/story/malaysia-airlines-mh17-crash-20-families-gone-one-shot-20140721 |title=Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash: 20 families gone in one shot |date=21 July 2014 |newspaper=The Straits Times |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140721223337/http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/south-east-asia/story/malaysia-airlines-mh17-crash-20-families-gone-one-shot-20140721 |archive-date=21 July 2014}}{{cite news |last1=Miranda |first1=Charles |first2=Cindy |last2=Wockner |first3=Ian |last3=McPhedran |author-link3=Ian McPhedran |first4=Jacquelin |last4=Magnay |url=http://www.news.com.au/world/mh17-train-in-kharkiv-as-tony-abbott-says-mh17-aftermath-is-evidence-tampering-on-industrial-scale/story-fndir2ev-1226996838429 |title=MH17 train in Kharkiv as Tony Abbott says MH17 aftermath is evidence tampering on industrial scale |work=News Corp Australia |date=22 July 2014 |access-date=22 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724092335/http://www.news.com.au/world/mh17-train-in-kharkiv-as-tony-abbott-says-mh17-aftermath-is-evidence-tampering-on-industrial-scale/story-fndir2ev-1226996838429 |archive-date=24 July 2015}}

Among the passengers were delegates en route to the 20th International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, including Joep Lange, a former president of the International AIDS Society, which organised the conference.{{Cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/crash-claims-top-aids-researchers-heading-to-melbourne-20140718-zuaw3.html |title=Crash claims top AIDS researchers heading to Melbourne |last1=Lillebuen |first1=Steve |last2=Willingham |first2=Richard |last3=Jacks |first3=Timna |date=18 July 2014 |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=18 July 2014}} Many initial reports had erroneously indicated that around 100 delegates to the conference were aboard, but this was later revised to six.{{cite web |url=http://www.crikey.com.au/2014/07/23/100-aids-researchers-on-mh17-why-and-how-the-media-got-it-wrong/ |title=100 AIDS researchers on MH17? Why and how the media got it wrong |last1=Robin |first1=Myriam |date=23 July 2014 |website=Crikey |access-date=23 July 2014}} Also on board were Dutch Senator Willem Witteveen,{{cite news |date=18 July 2014 |title=PvdA: diep geschokt door overlijden senator Witteveen |trans-title=PvdA: deeply shocked by the death of senator Witteveen |url=http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2686/Binnenland/article/detail/3691664/2014/07/18/Senator-Witteveen-PvdA-omgekomen-bij-crash.dhtml |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918091054/https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/pvda-diep-geschokt-door-overlijden-senator-witteveen~b1e0662e/ |archive-date=18 September 2018 |access-date=18 July 2014 |newspaper=de Volkskrant |language=nl}} Australian author Liam Davison,{{cite news |url=http://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/2426085/victorians-among-those-killed-in-mh17-crash-premier/?cs=80 |title=Victorians among those killed in MH17 crash: Premier |date=18 July 2014 |newspaper=Bendigo Advertiser |access-date=19 July 2014}} and Malaysian actress Shuba Jay.{{cite news |url=http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/malaysian-actress-dutch-hubby-and-baby-die-with-mh17 |title=Malaysian actress, Dutch hubby and baby die with MH17 |date=19 July 2014 |newspaper=The Malaysian Insider |access-date=19 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140722064912/http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/malaysian-actress-dutch-hubby-and-baby-die-with-mh17 |archive-date=22 July 2014}}

The flight crew were captains Wan Amran Wan Hussin (49) and Eugene Choo Jin Leong (44), and first officers Ahmad Hakimi Hanapi (29) and Muhamad Firdaus Abdul Rahim (26). Captain Wan had a total of 13,239 flight hours, including 7,989 in Boeing 777s. Captain Choo had a total of 12,385 flight hours, including 7,303 in Boeing 777s. First Officer Ahmad had a total of 3,190 flight hours, including 227 in Boeing 777s. First Officer Muhamad Firdaus had a total of 4,058 flight hours, including 296 in Boeing 777s.{{cite news |url=http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/08/22/The-crew-of-MH17/ |title=The crew of MH17 |date=22 August 2014 |newspaper=The Star |access-date=22 August 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907204657/http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/08/22/The-crew-of-MH17/ |archive-date=7 September 2014}}{{efn|The family name is Choo, as the Chinese name is Choo Jin Leong ({{zh|c=朱仁隆|p=Zhū Rénlóng}}{{cite web |date=18 July 2014 |title= |script-title=zh:MH17航班华裔机长父妻均曾就职马航 |trans-title=The father and wife of the Chinese captain of flight MH17 both worked for Malaysia Airlines |url=http://news.sina.com.cn/w/2014-07-18/170430543109.shtml |website=Sina News |language=zh-hans }} – The reference contains Choo's name in Chinese characters.). He should be referred to by his family name, Choo. Ethnic Malays, such as the other three pilots, do not have family names, and so they are referred to by their given names.}}

{{See also|War in Donbas}}

The armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine led some airlines to avoid eastern Ukrainian airspace in early March 2014 due to safety concerns.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28356745 |title=MH17 crash: Airlines divert flights from eastern Ukraine |website=BBC News |date=18 July 2014 |access-date=18 July 2014}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/18/airlines-avoid-ukraine-airspace-mh17 |title=Many airlines have avoided Ukrainian airspace for months |last1=Neate |first1=Rupert |last2=Glenza |first2=Jessica |date=18 July 2014 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=12 June 2018}} In the months prior to 17 July, reports circulated in the media on the presence of weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, in the hands of the rebels that were fighting the Ukrainian government in eastern Ukraine.{{cite web |url=http://itar-tass.com/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/1287030 |script-title=ru:Ополченцы ДНР взяли под контроль воинскую часть ПВО с зенитно-ракетными комплексами "Бук" |trans-title=DNR militias seized an air defence base with anti-aircraft missile systems "Buk" |date=29 June 2014 |website=Information Telegraph Agency of Russia |language=ru |access-date=21 July 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.ntv.ru/novosti/1085256/ |script-title=ru:Донецкие ополченцы обзавелись зенитно-ракетными комплексами "Бук" |trans-title=Donetsk militias acquired anti-aircraft missile systems "Buk" |date=17 July 2014 |website=NTV News |language=ru |access-date=17 July 2014}}

On 26 May, a spokesperson of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stated that a surface-to-air missile system that was being used by the rebels near Donetsk airport had been destroyed by a helicopter of the Ukrainian army. On 6 June 2014 The International New York Times reported that surface-to-air missiles had been seized from military bases. On 11 June, the newspaper {{ill|Argumenty nedeli|ru|Аргументы недели|de|Argumenty nedeli}} reported that a Buk-M1 missile launcher had been present in an area under the separatists' control. On 29 June the Russian news agencies reported that insurgents had obtained a Buk missile system after having taken control of Ukrainian military unit A-1402; and the Donetsk People's Republic claimed possession of such a system in a since-deleted tweet.{{cite web |url=https://thediplomat.com/2014/07/malaysian-airlines-flight-mh17-shot-down-over-donetsk-ukraine/ |title=Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 Shot Down Over Donetsk, Ukraine |last=Panda |first=Ankit |date=17 July 2014 |website=The Diplomat |access-date=17 July 2014}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysia-airlines-mh17-crash-deleted-posts-suggest-ukraine-rebels-downed-jet-in-error-0 |title=Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash: Deleted posts suggest Ukraine rebels downed jet in error |date=18 July 2014 |newspaper=The Straits Times}}

Such air defence systems cannot reliably identify and avoid civilian aircraft.{{Cite web |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2014/07/18/12951/how-can-a-civilian-plane-accidentally-be-shot-down/ |title=How Can a Civilian Plane Accidentally Be Shot Down? |first=Dave |last=Majumdar |date=18 July 2014 |website=MIT Technology Review |access-date=22 April 2020}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2014/07/18/did-the-ukrainian-rebels-even-know-they-were-shooting-at-a-civilian-aircraft/ |title=Did the Ukrainian rebels even know they were shooting at a civilian aircraft? |first=Brian |last=Fung |date=18 July 2014 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=22 April 2020}} The Ukrainian authorities declared in the media that this system was not operational.{{Reference page|page=|pages=187–188}} According to the subsequent statement of the Security Service of Ukraine, three Buk missile systems were located on militia-controlled territory at the time that Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was shot down. On the night following the downing of MH17, two Buk launcher vehicles, one of which carried three missiles, (out of a normal complement of four), was observed moving into Russia.{{Cite web |url=https://uacrisis.org/en/6364-v-sbu-eh-dokazi-bezposerednoyi-priche |title=Ukraine's Security Service Counterintelligence Chief presents photo evidence of Russia's direct involvement in the downing of Malaysian Flight MH17 that resulted in the deaths of 298 passengers |date=19 July 2014 |website=Ukraine Crisis Media Center}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWtH8AA42Fc |title=(English) Vitaly Nayda. UCMC, 19th of July 2014 |author=Ukraine Crisis Media Center |date=19 July 2014 |website=YouTube}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.sbu.gov.ua/sbu/control/uk/publish/article?art_id=129099&cat_id=39574 |title=Росія робить спроби приховати докази своєї причетності до теракту в небі над Україною |trans-title=Russia is trying to hide evidence of its involvement in a terrorist attack in the skies over Ukraine |date=21 July 2014 |website=Security Service of Ukraine |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140721205539/http://www.sbu.gov.ua/sbu/control/uk/publish/article?art_id=129099&cat_id=39574 |archive-date=21 July 2014}}

Several aircraft from the Ukrainian Air Force were shot down in the months and days preceding the MH17 incident. On 14 June 2014, a Ukrainian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 military transport was shot down on approach to Luhansk International Airport, with loss of nine crew members and forty troops.{{Reference page|page=183}} On 14 July 2014, a Ukrainian Air Force An-26 transport aircraft flying at {{convert|6500|m|ft|abbr=on}} was shot down.{{Reference page|page=183}} The militia reportedly claimed via social media that a Buk missile launcher, which they had previously seized and made operational, had been used to bring down the aircraft.{{cite news |date=14 July 2014 |title=Ополченцы сообщили, из чего сбили украинский Ан-26 |trans-title=Militiamen reported what they used to shoot down the Ukrainian An-26 |url=http://www.vz.ru/news/2014/7/14/695525.html |access-date=18 July 2014 |newspaper=Vzglyad |language=ru |quote=«Сегодня ополчением для уничтожения самолета АН-26 противника на высоте более 6 тыс. метров был применен ЗРК «9К37М1» (более известное, как «Бук»). ... - говорится в сообщении ополчения, распространяемом в соцсетях. |trans-quote=Today the self-defence destroyed An-26 airplane using SAM "9К37М1" (better known as 'Buk') at an altitude of over 6,000 meters. ... said the militia, distributed in social networks}} American officials later said evidence suggested the aircraft had been shot down from Russian territory.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/19/world/europe/malaysia-airlines-plane-ukraine.html |title=U.S. Sees Evidence of Russian Links to Jet's Downing |first=Peter |last=Baker |author-link=Peter Baker (author) |date=18 July 2014 |newspaper=The New York Times}}

On 16 July, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine reported that at about 13:00 local time "terrorists" used MANPADs against a Su-25 jet which was performing a flight mission in the ATO zone. According to the report, the airplane received minor damage and was forced to make a landing.{{Cite web |url=https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/213924.html |title=Ukrainian Defense Ministry confirms damage of Su-25 in country's east |date=17 July 2014 |website=Interfax-Ukraine |access-date=2020-12-04 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720115348/https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/213924.html |archive-date=20 July 2014}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.kyivpost.com/article/content/war-against-ukraine/ukrainian-defense-ministry-confirms-damage-of-su-25-in-countrys-east-356347.html |title=Ukrainian Defense Ministry confirms damage of Su-25 in country's east |date=16 July 2014 |website=Kyiv Post |access-date=2020-12-04}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.mil.gov.ua/news/2014/07/16/bojovi-litaki-povitryanih-sil-zs-ukraini-v-ramkah-vidnovlennya-bojovih-zavdan-nanesli-dekilka-tochkovih-aviaudariv-po-viznachenih-obektah-protivnika/ |title=Бойові літаки Повітряних Сил ЗС України в рамках відновлення бойових завдань нанесли декілька точкових авіаударів по визначених об'єктах противника |trans-title=Combat aircraft of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the framework of the resumption of combat missions inflicted several point air strikes on certain enemy targets |date=16 July 2014 |website=Ukraine Ministry of Defence |language=uk}} Later, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine reported on the second Su-25 that was attacked on the same day at about 19:00 local time near the Ukrainian-Russian border in the area of Amvrosiivka.{{Cite web |url=https://www.unian.ua/army/940719-rosiyskiy-viyskoviy-litak-zbiv-ukrajinskiy-su-25-v-nebi-donbasu.html |title=Російський військовий літак збив український Су-25 в небі Донбасу |trans-title=A Russian military plane shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 in the skies of Donbass |date=17 July 2014 |website=Ukrainian Independent Information Agency |language=uk |access-date=2020-12-05}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.mil.gov.ua/news/2014/07/17/rosijskij-vijskovij-litak-zbiv-ukrainskij-su-25-v-nebi-donbasu/ |title=Російський військовий літак збив український Су-25 в небі Донбасу |trans-title=A Russian military plane shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 in the skies of Donbass |date=17 July 2014 |website=Ukraine Ministry of Defence |language=uk}} According to the details reported by Ukraine's RNBO spokesperson Andriy Lysenko, the Ukrainian Su-25 was shot down by an R-27T medium range air-to-air missile fired by a MiG-29 jet from Russian territory while the Su-25 was at an altitude of 8,250 m.{{Reference page|page=185}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ifB7TgAZYU |title=Лисенко розповів, як російський винищувач полював за українським Су 25 |trans-title=Lysenko told how a Russian fighter was hunting for a Ukrainian Su 25 |last=Lysenko |first=Andriy |date=18 July 2014 |website=Espreso TV |via=YouTube}} The Russian Defence Ministry said that the accusations were false.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28345039 |title=Ukraine conflict: Russia accused of shooting down jet |date=17 July 2014 |website=BBC News |access-date=17 July 2014}}{{cite news |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-russia-jet-shot-down-blame/25460575.html |title=Russia Rejects 'Absurd' Accusation Over Downed Ukrainian Jet |date=17 July 2014 |website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |access-date=17 July 2014}} In response to additional questions by the Dutch Safety Board, the Ukrainian authorities reported that a "provisional investigation" had revealed that the airplane had been shot down while flying at an altitude of 6,250 m. Ukrainian authorities also thought that the Su-25 could have been shot down with a Pantsir missile system from Russian territory, though they thought this less likely.{{Reference page|page=185}}

On 17 July, an Associated Press journalist saw a Buk launcher in Snizhne, in Donetsk Oblast, {{convert|16|km|mi|0}} southeast of the crash site. The reporter also saw seven separatist tanks near the town.{{cite web |url=https://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-air-force-jet-downed-russian-missile-102817809.html |title=Ukraine: Air Force jet downed by Russian missile |first=Peter |last=Leonard |date=17 July 2014 |website=ABC News |agency=Associated Press |access-date=17 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113123101/http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-air-force-jet-downed-russian-missile-102817809.html |archive-date=13 January 2016}} Associated Press journalists reported that the Buk M-1 was operated by a man "with unfamiliar fatigues and a distinctive Russian accent" escorted by two civilian vehicles.{{cite web |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/what-happened-day-flight-17-was-downed |title=What happened? The day Flight 17 was downed |first1=Yuras |last1=Karmanau |first2=Peter |last2=Leonard |name-list-style=amp |website=Associated Press |date=25 July 2014 |access-date=13 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009123439/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/what-happened-day-flight-17-was-downed |archive-date=9 October 2014}} The battle around Savur-Mohyla has been suggested as the possible context in which the missile that brought down MH17 was fired, as separatists deployed increasingly sophisticated anti-aircraft weaponry in this battle, and had brought down several Ukrainian jets in July.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/11231333/The-unlikely-pilgrimage-site-of-Saur-Mogila.html |title=The haunting pilgrimage site of Saur Mogila |first=Roland |last=Oliphant |date=14 November 2014 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323091907/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/11231333/The-unlikely-pilgrimage-site-of-Saur-Mogila.html |archive-date=23 March 2019}}

In April, the International Civil Aviation Organization had warned governments that there was a risk to commercial passenger flights over south-eastern Ukraine.{{Reference page|page=217}} The American Federal Aviation Administration issued restrictions on flights over Crimea, to the south of MH17's route, and advised airlines flying over some other parts of Ukraine to "exercise extreme caution". This warning did not include the MH17 crash region.{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-airplane-warnings-idUSKBN0FM2BV20140717 |title=U.S. air carriers to avoid Russia-Ukraine border airspace |last1=Hosenball |first1=Mark |last2=Scott |first2=Alwyn |editor-last1=Storey |editor-first1=David |editor-last2=Reinhold |editor-first2=Toni |date=17 July 2014 |website=Reuters |access-date=2 October 2014}}{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/10974823/Air-operators-belatedly-avoid-Ukraine-war-zone.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/10974823/Air-operators-belatedly-avoid-Ukraine-war-zone.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Air operators belatedly avoid Ukraine war zone |first=Tom |last=Whitehead |date=17 July 2014 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=19 July 2014}}{{cbignore}} 37 airlines continued overflying eastern Ukraine and about 900 flights crossed the Donetsk region in the seven days before the Boeing 777 was shot down.{{cite news |url=http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/malaysia-airlines-mh17-lufthansa-ueberflog-ost-ukraine-56-mal-a-981813.html |title=Absturz von Flug MH17: Lufthansa flog zuletzt 56-mal über Kriegsgebiet |trans-title=Crash of Flight MH17: Lufthansa lately flew 56 times over crisis region |date=18 July 2014 |newspaper=Der Spiegel |language=de |access-date=2 October 2014}} Russian air traffic controllers issued a notice effective 17 July at 00:00 with two conflicting altitude restrictions in the airspace in the adjacent area over Russia below {{Convert|32,000|ft|m}} and below {{convert|53000|feet}}. Long-distance flights typically travel at altitudes of 33,000 to 44,000 feet,{{Cite web |url=https://traveltips.usatoday.com/altitude-plane-flight-100359.html |title=Travel tips: What Is the Altitude of a Plane in Flight? |website=USA Today |access-date=24 June 2019}} so the second restriction would effectively close that airspace to civilian overflights, but the second restriction was not noted by the automated systems of Malaysian Airlines and the route was not changed. The reason given for the notice was "armed conflict in Ukraine". Russian authorities told the Dutch Safety Board the notice had been published "to create agreement with the adjoining Ukrainian airspace", but provided no clarification for the higher restriction.{{Cite web|date=October 2015|title=Crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17|url=https://www.onderzoeksraad.nl/en/media/attachment/2018/7/10/debcd724fe7breport_mh17_crash.pdf|access-date=16 July 2017|website=Dutch Safety Board|page=180, D:31–33|archive-date=13 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151013141325/http://cdn.onderzoeksraad.nl/documents/report-mh17-crash-en.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/07/17/world/europe/maps-of-the-crash-of-malaysian-airlines-flight-mh17.html |title=Maps of the Crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 |date=21 July 2014 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=8 June 2015}}

The airspace above Donetsk was managed by Ukraine. The Ukrainian authorities imposed restrictions for flights under 32,000 feet (9,800 m), but did not consider closing the airspace to civil aviation completely.{{Reference page|page=10}}{{cite web |url=https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2015/06/10/64473-171-17-iyulya-v-zonu-ato-dolzhen-byl-vyletet-transportnyy-an-26-s-ukrainskimi-desantnikami-187 |title=17 июля в зону АТО должен был вылететь транспортный Ан-26 с украинскими десантниками |trans-title=On July 17, the transport An-26 with Ukrainian paratroopers was supposed to fly into the ATO zone |last1=Racheva |first1=Elena |last2=Musafirova |first2=Olga |date=10 June 2015 |website=Novaya Gazeta |language=ru |access-date=1 December 2020}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/20/world/europe/malaysia-airlines-plane-ukraine.html |title=Ukraine Says It Can Prove Russia Supplied Arms System That Felled Jet |first1=David M. |last1=Herszenhorn |first2=Sabrina |last2=Tavernise |date=19 July 2014 |newspaper=The New York Times}} Like other countries, Ukraine receives overflight fees for commercial aircraft that fly over its territory and this may have contributed to the continued availability of civilian flight paths through the conflict zone.{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/aviation/ukraine-responsible-for-airspace-safety-iata-20140720-zuzmp.html |title=Ukraine responsible for airspace safety: IATA |first=Jamie |last=Freed |date=20 July 2014 |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=21 July 2014}}{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/aviation/mh17-disaster-flights-over-war-zones-because-its-cheaper-20140718-zua0y.html |title=MH17 disaster: Flights over war zones 'because it's cheaper |first1=Tom |last1=Whitehead |first2=Nick |last2=Collins |first3=Martin |last3=Evans |date=18 July 2014 |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=18 July 2014}} However, the Netherlands, where the main investigation was conducted, did not hold Ukraine accountable for not closing its airspace due to lack of evidence that it should have done so.{{Cite web |last1=Oleg |first1=Petrushak |date=25 July 2021 |title=MH17 case: The Netherlands will not hold Ukraine accountable for decision not to close airspace over Donbas |url=https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/3186312-mh17-case-the-netherlands-will-not-hold-ukraine-accountable-for-decision-not-to-close-airspace-over-donbas.html |access-date=25 July 2021 |website=Ukrinform}}

File:MH17 map-en.svg

File:MH17 Flight Route (en).svg

On Thursday, 17 July 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 departed from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Gate G3 at 12:13 CEST (10:13 UTC), thirteen minutes later than the scheduled departure time, and took off at 12:31 local time (10:31 UTC).{{Reference page|page=23}} It was due to arrive at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 06:10 MYT on Friday, 18 July (22:10 UTC, 17 July).

According to the original flight plan, MH17 was to fly over Ukraine at flight level 330 (33,000 feet or 10,060 metres) and then change to FL 350 around the Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk. When it reached the area as planned, at 15:53 local time (12:53 UTC), Dnipropetrovsk Air Control (Dnipro Control) asked MH17 if they could climb to FL 350 as planned, and also to maintain separation from another flight, Singapore Airlines Flight 351 (SQ351), also at FL 330. The crew asked to remain at FL 330 and the air traffic controller approved this request, moving the other flight to FL 350. At 16:00 local time (13:00 UTC), the crew asked for a deviation of {{convert|20|nmi|abbr=~}} to the left (north) off course, on airway L980, due to weather conditions. This request was also approved by Dnipro Control ATC. The crew then asked if they could climb to FL 340, which was rejected as this flight level was not available, so MH17 remained at FL 330. At 16:19 local time (13:19 UTC), Dnipro Control noticed that the flight was {{convert|3.6|nmi|abbr=on}} north of the centreline of its approved airway and instructed MH17 to return to the track. At 16:19 local time (13:19 UTC), Dnipro Control contacted Russian ATC in Rostov-on-Don (RND Control) by telephone and requested clearance to transfer the flight to Russian airspace. After obtaining permission, Dnipro Control attempted to contact MH17 for handing them off to RND Control at 16:20 local time (13:20 UTC), but the aircraft did not respond. When MH17 did not respond to several calls, Dnipro Control contacted RND Control again to check if they could see the aircraft on their radar. RND Control confirmed that the airliner had disappeared.

The Dutch Safety Board reported that both the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and the flight data recorder (FDR) stopped recording at 16:20:03 local time (13:20:03 UTC). The last FDR data indicates that the plane was at the position of 48.12715 N 38.52630538 E located west of the urban-type settlement Rozsypne (Розсипне), near Hrabove, heading east-southeast (ESE, 115°) at an altitude of 32,998 feet above sea level with a ground speed of {{convert|494|kn|km/h mph}} and an indicated airspeed of 293 knots.{{Reference page|page=|location=46–47 & 111}} The flight recorders show no sign of warning or unusual occurrence prior to the end of their recordings, but two sound peaks are heard in the last 20 milliseconds of the CVR recording.{{Reference page|page=45}}

At 16:20:03 local time (13:20:03 UTC), a Buk ground-to-air missile, which had been launched from an area southeast of the aircraft, detonated outside the airplane, just above and to the left of the cockpit.{{Reference page|page=|pages=142–147}} The blast and fragments of the missile severely damaged the cockpit and instantly killed three crew members in it.{{Reference page|page=|pages=|location=147–149, 139–141, 136}} Evidence on the left engine intake ring and left wing tip suggests that the left wing and left engine had also been hit by shrapnel from the missile.{{Reference page|location=60, 136}} An explosive decompression occurred, tearing the forward section of the aircraft into pieces, causing the middle and rear sections to tear into three sections and depressurizing the cabin.{{Reference page|location=|pages=150–152}} The explosive decompression could have incapacitated most occupants of the aircraft before the crash, though investigators never ruled out the possibility that some were still conscious when the aircraft hit the ground. Some occupants might have suffered serious injuries that contributed to their deaths before the crash.{{Rp|page=165}} The aircraft fell rapidly and continued disintegrating before hitting the ground.{{Reference page|location=|pages=54–55, 152–153}}

Investigators were able to determine how the aircraft disintegrated and crashed.{{Reference page|location=|pages=149–163}} The aircraft began disintegrating immediately after being struck by a missile.{{Reference page|page=160}} Investigators believed that the disintegration of the forward section of the fuselage started between the left-side cockpit windows and the forward, left-exit door.{{Reference page|page=151}} The cockpit section and the business class section of the aircraft began tearing into a number of pieces before the aircraft descended rapidly toward the ground.{{Reference page|location=|pages=150–152}} During that period of time, the left engine intake ring had also fallen off the engine and fell in the same place as where some of these pieces fell.{{Reference page|location=54, 60, 162|pages=}}

As the aircraft was falling, the instability and aerodynamic loads of the aircraft stressed its fuselage, resulting in further disintegration.{{Reference page|page=160}} Shortly before crashing into the ground, the rear section of the fuselage, just behind where the two wings were attached to the fuselage, was separated from the middle portion of the fuselage.{{Reference page|page=152}} At the same time, the two wing tips had fallen off from the wings of the aircraft.{{Reference page|page=161}} The tail section, which was just behind the aft exit doors, was also separated from the rear section.{{Reference page|page=153}} The pair of horizontal stabilizers and the vertical stabilizer were also separated from the tail section prior to impacting the ground.{{Reference page|page=161}} The middle portion, including the two wings and two engines, eventually crashed into farmland and its large volume of jet fuel exploded upon impact.{{Reference page|location=54–55, 76|pages=}}

The positions of the aircraft wreckage suggest that the plane might have been upside down when the rear and middle sections disintegrated, and the middle portion probably crashed inverted while travelling rearward.{{Reference page|location=|pages=161–162}} Investigators could not specify the exact time when each major section of the plane hit the ground. However, they estimated that the middle portion of the aircraft had impacted the ground within 1-1.5 minutes after the beginning of the in-flight breakup.{{Reference page|page=162}}

The disintegration of the plane had caused the seats, pieces of interior wall and floor, overhead compartments, and other interior structures of the aircraft to fall out. Some bodies, personal belongings, and other light objects had also fallen out of the plane. As a result of the mid-air disintegration, the debris of the plane landed in six different areas.{{Reference page|page=53}}

In the investigation report, the position where the plane was struck by a missile is identified as the "last FDR point" because it is where the flight data recorder stopped recording. A few parts of the business class and cockpit sections landed on farmland far north of the last FDR point. The business class section and the left engine intake ring landed in the large residential area of Petropavlivka, northeast of the last FDR point. The cockpit and the forward cargo section, including the nose landing gear, landed on farmland far southeast of the last FDR point and southwest of the village of Rozsypne. The tail and the rear fuselage sections landed farther east of the last FDR point, while the middle portion of the aircraft landed at 48°8′17″N 38°38′20″E, just northeast of them.{{Reference page|page=|pages=54–55}}

Most of the debris of the aircraft, which were the middle and rear sections, landed near the southwest of the village of Hrabove, north of Torez (now also known as Chystiakove). The wreckage had spread over a {{convert|50|km2|mi2|adj=on}} area in Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine.{{Reference page|page=53}} The fireball on impact is believed to have been captured on video.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10975094/Malaysia-Airlines-crash-video-believed-to-show-moment-of-planes-impact.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719021658/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10975094/Malaysia-Airlines-crash-video-believed-to-show-moment-of-planes-impact.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 July 2014 |title=Malaysia Airlines crash: video believed to show moment of plane's impact |date=17 July 2014 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=17 July 2014}} Photographs from the site of the crash show scattered pieces of broken fuselage and engine parts, bodies, and passports.{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/07/17/malaysia-airlines-mh17-passenger-jet-crashes-ukraine-near-russian-border_n_5595450.html |title=Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 'Shot Down in Ukraine Near Russian Border' |first=Sara C. |last=Nelson |date=17 July 2014 |website=The Huffington Post |location=United Kingdom |access-date=17 July 2014}} Some of the wreckage fell close to houses.{{cite news |url=http://www.telegraaf.nl/buitenland/22866550/__Vliegtuig_crasht_in_Oekraine__.html |title=Maleisisch passagiersvliegtuig in Oekraïne neergestort |trans-title=Malaysian passenger aircraft shot down in Ukraine |date=17 July 2014 |newspaper=De Telegraaf |language=nl |access-date=17 July 2014}} Dozens of bodies fell into crop fields, and some fell into houses.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/malaysia-airlines-mh17-crash-no-forensic-investigators-coordination-or-body-bags-as-locals-are-left-to-scour-the-gruesome-scene-9615895.html |title=Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash: No forensic investigators, co-ordination or body bags as Ukraine locals are left to scour gruesome scene |first=Cahal |last=Milmo |newspaper=The Independent |date=19 July 2014 |access-date=19 July 2014}}

Three other commercial aircraft were in the vicinity when the Malaysian airliner was shot down: Air India Flight 113 (AI113), a Boeing 787 en route from Delhi to Birmingham, EVA Air Flight 88 (BR88), a Boeing 777 en route from Paris to Taipei, and the closest aircraft, Singapore Airlines Flight 351 (SQ351), was {{convert|33|km|mi}} away, a Boeing 777 en route from Copenhagen to Singapore.{{Reference page|page=41}}

File:Arrival of corpses from MH17 at Eindhoven Airport.jpg]]

A Ukraine Foreign Ministry representative said that the bodies found at the crash site would be taken to Kharkiv for identification, {{convert|270|km|mi}} to the north. By the day after the crash, 181 of the 298 bodies had been found.{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/official-181-bodies-found-at-mh17-crash-site/article6225245.ece |title=Official: 181 bodies found at MH17 crash site |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=The Hindu |date=18 July 2014 |access-date=19 July 2014}} Some were observed being placed in body bags and loaded onto trucks.{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2014/07/19/12883715/ |title=Raw: Crews begin moving bodies at jet crash site |agency=Associated Press |date=19 July 2014 |newspaper=USA Today |access-date=19 July 2014}}{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/mh17-unknown-groups-use-body-bags-20140719-3c8dl.html |title=MH17: 'Unknown groups' use body bags |last1=Miller |first1=Nick |date=19 July 2014 |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=19 July 2014}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/19/mh17-armed-rebels-chaos-corpses-ukraine |title=MH17: armed rebels fuel chaos as rotting corpses pile up on the roadside |last1=Grytsenko |first1=Oksana |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=19 July 2014}}

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte initially complained about looting of personal belongings from the dead and the careless handling of their bodies, but later stated they had been handled with more care than originally reported.{{cite web |url=http://www.nu.nl/vliegramp-oekraine/3832485/rutte-geschokt-respectloos-gedrag-rampplek.html |title=Rutte geschokt over 'respectloos gedrag' op rampplek |trans-title=Rutte shocked about 'disrespectful behavior' at a disaster site |date=19 July 2014 |website=Nu.nl |language=nl |access-date=19 July 2014}}{{cite news |url=http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/31522/Vliegtuigcrash-in-Oekraine/article/detail/3693688/2014/07/21/Rutte-Zorgvuldiger-met-lichamen-omgegaan-dan-werd-gevreesd.dhtml |title=Rutte: 'Zorgvuldiger met lichamen omgegaan dan werd gevreesd' |first=Laura |last=de Jong |date=21 July 2014 |website=de Volkskrant |language=nl}} Other media complained that credit and debit cards were being looted,{{cite web |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ukraine-plane-crash/dutch-banks-respond-reports-mh17-victims-looted-credit-cards-n160246 |title=Dutch Banks Respond to Reports of MH17 Victims' Looted Credit Cards |date=19 July 2014 |website=NBC News |access-date=20 July 2014}} and there were accusations that evidence at the crash site had been destroyed.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10978577/MH17-Malaysia-Airlines-crash-victims-robbed-of-their-dignity-by-rebels.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10978577/MH17-Malaysia-Airlines-crash-victims-robbed-of-their-dignity-by-rebels.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=MH17: Malaysia Airlines crash victims robbed of their dignity by rebels |last1=Mendick |first1=Robert |last2=Sawer |first2=Patrick |last3=Ross |first3=Time |date=19 July 2014 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=20 July 2014}}{{cbignore}}{{cite news |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/heartless-looters-raid-malaysian-airlines-flight-mh17-crash-site-article-1.1872047 |title=Heartless looters raid Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crash site, swipe victims' luggage, personal items |last1=Wagner |first1=Meg |date=18 July 2014 |newspaper=Daily News |location=New York |access-date=20 July 2014}} The Guardian noted that tales of looting seemed to be exaggerated, but the chaos at the crash site risked the accidental destruction of evidence which, the paper contended, journalists were contributing to.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/20/mh17-victims-crash-site-anger-russia-grows |title=MH17: World's anger at Russia grows as bodies pile on to train at crash site |first1=Shaun |last1=Walker |first2=Harriet |last2=Salem |first3=Josh |last3=Halliday |date=21 July 2014 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=6 August 2014}}

On 20 July, Ukrainian emergency workers, observed by armed pro-Russian separatists, began loading the remains of the passengers of MH17 into refrigerated railway wagons for transport and identification.{{cite news |url=https://online.wsj.com/articles/some-bodies-removed-from-mh17-crash-site-1405849163 |title=Bodies Removed From MH17 Crash Site Human Remains Moved to Railcars at Torez Station |last1=Sonne |first1=Paul |last2=Kolyandr |first2=Alexander |last3=Coker |first3=Margaret |date=20 July 2014 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=20 July 2014}}

On 21 July, pro-Russian rebels allowed Dutch investigators to examine the bodies. By this time, 272 bodies had been recovered, according to Ukrainian officials.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28399406 |title=MH17 plane crash: Dutch experts examine bodies |date=21 July 2014 |website=BBC News |access-date=21 July 2014}} Remains left Torez on a train on the evening of 21 July, en route to Kharkiv to be flown to the Netherlands for identification.{{cite web |title=MH17 plane crash: Train with bodies leaves Ukraine station |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28411225 |website=BBC News |date=21 July 2014 |access-date=21 July 2014}} On the same day, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that the Malaysian government had reached a tentative agreement to retrieve the remains of the Malaysians who died in the crash, following any necessary forensic work.{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/mh17-malaysia-reaches-deal-to-recover-bodies-in-race-for-muslim-burials/article19692413/ |title=MH17: Malaysia reaches 'behind the scenes' deal to recover bodies |last1=Marlow |first1=Iain |date=21 July 2014 |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |access-date=21 July 2014}}

File:Convoy of MH-17 victims on the highway.jpg, Netherlands, while other traffic stopped]]

It was reported on 21 July that with 282 bodies and 87 body fragments found, there were still 16 bodies missing.{{cite web |url=http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/7/21/obama-ukraine-russia.html |title=Obama calls for Russia 'pivot' on Ukraine as MH17 investigation begins |date=21 July 2014 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=21 July 2014}} An agreement had been reached that the Netherlands would co-ordinate the identification effort. A train carrying the bodies arrived at the Malyshev Factory, Kharkiv on 22 July.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/world/europe/malaysia-airlines-jet-ukraine.html |title=Bodies of Crash Victims Safely Moved Out of Combat Area |first=Andrew |last=Higgins |date=22 July 2014 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=22 July 2014}} Dutch authorities stated that they found 200 bodies on the train when it arrived at Kharkhiv, leaving almost 100 unaccounted for.{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/world/mh17-crash-families-worst-fears-realised-as-bodies-go-missing-20140723-zvv9x.html |title=MH17 crash: families' worst fears realised as bodies go missing |first=Paul |last=McGeough |date=23 July 2014 |newspaper=The Age |access-date=23 July 2014}} In late July, the UK Metropolitan Police sent specialist officers to Ukraine to assist with the recovery, identification and repatriation of bodies.

The first remains were flown to Eindhoven in the Netherlands on 23 July,{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-28416973 |title=MH17 bodies leave Ukraine rebel area and reach Kharkiv |date=22 July 2014 |website=BBC News |access-date=22 July 2014}} moved there with Dutch air force C-130 and Australian C-17 transport aircraft,{{cite news |url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/netherlands-to-coordinate-mh17-victim-identification-efforts-114072100077_1.html |title=Netherlands to coordinate MH17 victim identification efforts |date=21 July 2014 |newspaper=Business Standard |access-date=22 July 2014}}{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-22/operation-launched-to-recover-and-identify-mh17-victims/5615332 |title=MH17: Tony Abbott announces Operation Bring Them Home to secure and identify victims of Malaysia Airlines disaster |website=ABC News (Australia) |date=22 July 2014 |access-date=22 July 2014}} which landed at Eindhoven Airport just before 16:00 local time.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/mh17-crash-social-media--blackout-tribute-continues-as-first-bodies-are-to-be-flown-to-netherlands-from-ukraine-9622288.html |title=MH17 crash victims: First bodies arrive in Netherlands from Ukraine |first=Heather |last=Saul |date=23 July 2014 |newspaper=The Independent}} The day after, another 74 bodies arrived.{{cite web |url=http://nos.nl/artikel/679047-weer-74-kisten-naar-hilversum.html |title=Weer 74 kisten naar Hilversum |date=24 July 2014 |website=NOS |language=nl}} The examination and identification of the bodies was conducted at the Netherlands Army medical regiment training facility in Hilversum and was coordinated by a Dutch forensic team.{{cite web |url=http://nieuws.nl/algemeen/20140722/hilversum-treft-voorbereidingen-voor-lichamen-mh17/ |title=Hilversum treft voorbereidingen voor lichamen MH17 |date=22 July 2014 |website=Nieuws.nl |language=nl |access-date=22 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140723204451/http://www.nieuws.nl/algemeen/20140722/Hilversum-treft-voorbereidingen-voor-lichamen-MH17 |archive-date=23 July 2014 |url-status=dead}}

On 1 August, it was announced that a search and recovery mission, including about 80 forensic police specialists from the Netherlands, Malaysia and Australia, and led by Colonel Cornelis Kuijs of the Royal Marechaussee, would use drones, sniffer dogs, divers and satellite mapping to search for missing body parts at the crash site.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/11005039/Dutch-and-Australian-police-to-use-drones-divers-and-sniffer-dogs-in-perilous-search-for-victims.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/11005039/Dutch-and-Australian-police-to-use-drones-divers-and-sniffer-dogs-in-perilous-search-for-victims.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Dutch and Australian police to use drones, divers and sniffer dogs in perilous search for victims |first=Tom |last=Parfitt |date=1 August 2014 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=3 August 2014}}{{cbignore}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/05/mh17-investigators-frustrated-at-limited-access-due-to-fighting |title=MH17 investigators frustrated at limited access due to fighting |date=5 August 2014 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=8 September 2014}} Australian officials had believed that as many as 80 bodies were still at the site, but after some days of searching the international team had "found remains of only a few victims" and concluded that "the recovery effort undertaken by local authorities immediately after the crash was more thorough than initially thought."{{cite web |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/dutch-premier-halts-search-ukraine-victims |title=Dutch premier halts search for Ukraine victims |first=Toby |last=Sterling |date=6 August 2014 |website=Associated Press |access-date=6 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141118080619/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/dutch-premier-halts-search-ukraine-victims |archive-date=18 November 2014}}

On 6 August, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced that the recovery operation would be temporarily halted due to an upsurge in fighting around the crash site threatening the safety of crash investigators and recovery specialists and that all international investigators and humanitarian forces conducting searches would leave the country leaving behind a small communications and liaison team.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/07/mh17-crash-search-for-remains-halted |title=MH17 crash: search for remains halted as Australia begins day of mourning |first=Helen |last=Davidson |date=6 August 2014 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=10 August 2014}}

On 22 August, the bodies of 20 Malaysians (of 43 killed in the incident) arrived in Malaysia.{{cite news |date=21 August 2014 |title=MH17 bodies arrive in Malaysia |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/22/mh17-bodies-arrive-in-malaysia |access-date=22 August 2014 |newspaper=The Guardian |location=Kuala Lumpur |agency=Agence France-Presse}} The government announced a National Day of Mourning, with a ceremony broadcast live on radio and television.{{cite news |url=http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/08/22/MH17-Day-of-mourning-white-hearses-at-KLIA/ |title=MH17 day of mourning: White hearses arrive at KLIA |newspaper=The Star (Malaysia) |date=22 August 2014}}

On 9 October, a spokesman for the Dutch National Prosecutor's Office stated that one victim had been found with an oxygen mask around his neck; a forensic investigation of the mask for fingerprints, saliva and DNA did not produce any results, and it is therefore not known how or when the mask got around the neck of the victim.{{Reference page|page=99}}

By 5 December 2014, the Dutch-led forensic team had identified the bodies of 292 out of 298 victims of the crash.{{cite news |url=http://www.nltimes.nl/2014/12/05/six-mh17-victims-remain-unidentified/ |title=Six MH17 victims remain unidentified |last=Grindstad |first=Ingrid |date=5 December 2014 |newspaper=NL Times |access-date=6 December 2014}} In February and April 2015, new remains were found on the site,{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine-crisis-mh17-idCNL6N0VC3GC20150202 |title=Dutch search team recovers remains, MH17 wreckage in Ukraine |last=Deutsch |first=Anthony |date=2 February 2015 |website=Reuters |editor-last=Chopra |editor-first=Toby |access-date=16 April 2015}}{{cite web |url=https://news.yahoo.com/dutch-investigators-recover-human-remains-mh17-crash-110138676.html |title=Dutch investigators recover human remains from MH17 crash site |date=21 April 2015 |agency=Agence France-Presse |website=Yahoo! News |access-date=23 April 2015}} after which only two victims, both Dutch citizens, had not been identified.

About 90 minutes after the incident, Ukraine closed all routes in Eastern Ukrainian airspace, at all altitudes.{{Reference page|page=101}} The incident dramatically heightened fears about airliner shoot-downs,{{cite news |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Air-India-flight-with-126-on-board-was-right-behind-MH-17/articleshow/38601142.cms |title=Air India flight with 126 on board was right behind MH 17 |date=18 July 2014 |newspaper=The Times of India |access-date=12 November 2014 |quote=}} leading to some airlines announcing that they would avoid flying over the conflict zones.

Shortly after the incident, it was announced that Malaysia Airlines would retire flight number MH17 and change the Amsterdam–Kuala Lumpur route to flight number MH19 beginning on 25 July 2014, with the outbound flight MH16 unchanged.{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/07/18/malaysia-flight-17-retired-numbers/12827633/ |title=Malaysia will stop using No. 17 next week |first=Bart |last=Jansen |date=18 July 2014 |newspaper=USA Today |access-date=18 July 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-21/mh17-malaysia-airlines-retires-flight-number-out-of-respect-/5610864 |title=MH17: Malaysia Airlines retires flight number after Ukraine crash |date=21 July 2014 |website=ABC News (Australia) |access-date=21 July 2014}} In association with the retirement of the Boeing 777 aircraft type from Malaysia Airlines' fleet, Malaysia Airlines ended its service to Amsterdam on 25 January 2016, opting to codeshare with KLM on the KUL-AMS route for the services instead.{{cite web |url=http://airlineroute.net/2015/12/03/mh-amscdg-jan16cxld/ |title=Malaysia Airlines Cancels Amsterdam / Paris Routes from late-Jan 2016 |website=Airlineroute.net |date=3 December 2015 |access-date=26 December 2015}} Following the shootdown, shares in Malaysia Airlines dropped by nearly 16%.{{cite web |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/malaysia-airlines-shares-tank-2014-7 |title=Malaysia Airlines Shares Tank |first=Rob |last=Wile |date=18 July 2014 |website=Business Insider |access-date=19 July 2014}}

On 23 July 2014, two Ukrainian military jets were hit by missiles at the altitude of {{convert|17000|ft}} close to the area of the MH17 crash. According to the Ukrainian Security Council, preliminary information indicated that the missiles came from Russia.{{cite web |url=http://www.trust.org/item/20140723154118-im9dy |title=Ukraine: missiles that brought down jets may have been fired from Russia |date=23 July 2014 |website=Reuters |access-date=19 September 2014 |archive-date=3 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903063951/http://www.trust.org/item/20140723154118-im9dy |url-status=dead }}

In July 2015, Malaysia proposed that the United Nations Security Council set up an international tribunal to prosecute those deemed responsible for the downing of the aircraft. The Malaysian resolution received the support of 11 of the 15 members in the council, with three abstentions. The resolution was vetoed by Russia. The Russian government proposed an alternative draft resolution, which would not have set up a tribunal.{{cite web |url=https://www.dw.com/en/russia-submits-rival-mh17-resolution-draft/a-18596856 |title=Russia submits rival MH17 resolution draft |date=21 July 2015 |website=Deutsche Welle |access-date=28 April 2020}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/russia-makes-rival-un-move-on-mh17-probe |title=Russia makes rival UN move on MH17 probe |date=21 July 2015 |website=SBS News}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33710088 |title=Russia vetoes MH17 tribunal at UN |date=29 July 2015 |website=BBC News |access-date=23 April 2020}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-opposes-un-mh17-tribunal/27139710.html |title=Russia Opposes UN MH17 Tribunal |newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=20 July 2015 |access-date=25 April 2020}}

Two parallel investigations were led by the Dutch, one into the technical cause of the crash, and a separate criminal inquiry.{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-mh17-bodies/where-are-the-bodies-mh17-families-ask-idUSKCN0IV1NJ20141111 |title=Where are the bodies, MH17 families ask |last1=Deutsch |first1=Anthony |last2=Escritt |first2=Thomas |date=11 November 2014 |website=Reuters |editor-last=Ledwith |editor-first=Sara |access-date=11 November 2014}} The technical report was released on 13 October 2015,{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/final-report-on-downing-of-malaysia-airlines-flight-mh17-due-october-1440675525 |title=Final Report on Downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 Due October |last=Wall |first=Robert |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=27 August 2015}} and the criminal investigation reported some of their findings in September 2016. According to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, the country in which an aviation incident occurs is responsible for the investigation, but that country may delegate the investigation to another state; Ukraine has delegated the leadership of both investigations to the Netherlands.{{cite web |url=http://www.eturbonews.com/53217/mh17-investigation-why-malaysia-excluded |title=MH17 investigation – why is Malaysia excluded? |first=Julie |last=Lévesque |website=eTN Global Travel Industry News |date=3 December 2014 |access-date=21 December 2014}}{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/19c29f34-10e1-11e4-b116-00144feabdc0 |title=Netherlands to lead MH17 investigation |last1=Parker |first1=Andrew |last2=Olearchyk |first2=Roman |date=21 July 2014 |newspaper=Financial Times |access-date=22 July 2014}}{{cite news |date=24 July 2014 |title=Nederlandse leidersrol krijgt juridische basis − Vliegtuigcrash in Oekraïne |trans-title=Dutch leadership role gets legal basis - Plane crash in Ukraine |url=http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/31522/Vliegtuigcrash-in-Oekraine/article/detail/3698000/2014/07/24/Nederlandse-leidersrol-krijgt-juridische-basis.dhtml |access-date=24 July 2014 |newspaper=De Volkskrant |language=nl}}{{cite web |url=http://www.onderzoeksraad.nl/uploads/fm/2014_07_23_PB_OVV_neemt_leiding_over_ENG_DEF.pdf |title=Dutch Safety Board heads investigation: investigation effort in full swing, black boxes currently being read out |date=23 July 2014 |website=Dutch Safety Board |access-date=24 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728064337/http://www.onderzoeksraad.nl/uploads/fm/2014_07_23_PB_OVV_neemt_leiding_over_ENG_DEF.pdf |archive-date=28 July 2014}}

In the hours following the crash, a meeting was convened of the Trilateral Contact Group. After they had held a video conference with representatives of insurgents affiliated with the Donetsk People's Republic (who controlled the area where the aircraft crashed), the rebels promised to "provide safe access and security guarantees" to "the national investigation commission" by co-operating with Ukrainian authorities and OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) monitors.{{cite web |url=http://www.osce.org/home/121390 |title=Press statement by the Trilateral Contact Group |date=18 July 2014 |website=Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe |access-date=18 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140908053442/http://www.osce.org/home/121390 |archive-date=8 September 2014}} During the first two days of investigation, the militants prevented the OSCE and the workers of Ukrainian Emergencies Ministry from freely working at the crash site. Andrei Purgin, a leader of the Donetsk People's Republic, declared later that "we will guarantee the safety of international experts on the scene as soon as Kiev concludes a ceasefire agreement".{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/20/mh17-pro-russia-rebels-crash-site-kiev-ceasefire |title=MH17: pro-Russia rebels will allow access to crash site if ceasefire agreed |last1=Walker |first1=Shaun |date=20 July 2014 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=8 September 2014}}

File:Investigation of the crash site of MH-17.jpg

By 18 July 2014, the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder had been recovered by separatists,{{cite news |url=http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/07/18/malaysia-airlines-mh17-black-boxes-reportedly-recovered-russia-denies-it-will-take-them-from-rebels/ |title=Malaysia Airlines MH17 black boxes reportedly recovered, Russia denies it will take them from rebels |date=22 May 2014 |newspaper=National Post |access-date=19 July 2014}} and three days later were handed over to Malaysian officials in Donetsk.{{Reference page|page=44}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/22/mh17-black-boxes-handed-over-pro-russia-rebels |title=Ukraine rebels hand over MH17 black boxes and let train carrying bodies leave |last1=Walker |first1=Shaun |last2=Salem |first2=Harriet |date=22 July 2014 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=21 February 2019}} The voice recorder was damaged but there was no evidence that data had been tampered with.{{Reference page|page=45}}

The National Bureau of Air Accidents Investigation of Ukraine, which led investigations, both off- and on-site, during the first days after the crash,{{cite web |url=http://www.nbaai.gov.ua/news.html?id=6&lang=uk |title=Розслідування катастрофи літака Boeing 777 |trans-title=Boeing 777 crash investigation |website=NBAAI |date=25 August 2014 |language=uk |access-date=2 October 2014 }}{{dead link|date=April 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} had by August 2014 delegated the investigation to the DSB because of the large number of Dutch passengers and the flight having originated in Amsterdam.{{Reference page|page=14}}{{cite web |url=http://onderzoeksraad.nl/en/onderzoek/2049/investigation-crash-mh17-17-july-2014/onderzoek/1559/questions-and-answers-concerning-the-investigation-into-flight-mh17#fasen |title=Questions and answers concerning the investigation into Flight MH17 |date=17 July 2014 |website=Dutch Safety Board |access-date=22 August 2014 |quote=Ukraine has transferred responsibility for investigating the cause of the crash to the Dutch Safety Board. The request came from Ukraine. This request was made because the flight departed from the Netherlands, and due to the large number of Dutch nationals who died in the crash |archive-date=16 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616130455/https://onderzoeksraad.nl/en/onderzoek/2049/investigation-crash-mh17-17-july-2014/onderzoek/1559/questions-and-answers-concerning-the-investigation-into-flight-mh17#fasen |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |date=26 October 2016 |title=MH17 misbruikt voor opvoeren spanning met Rusland |trans-title=MH17 misused to increase tension with Russia |url=http://nos.nl/nieuwsuur/artikel/2139769-mh17-misbruikt-voor-opvoeren-spanning-met-rusland.html |access-date=17 July 2019 |website=NOS |language=nl}}

On 22 July 2014, a Malaysian team of 133 officials, search and recovery personnel, and forensics, technical and medical experts arrived in Ukraine. Australia sent a 45-member panel headed by former Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, who had earlier supervised the MH370 probe.{{cite web |url=http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/07/mh370-search-coordinator-to-lead-australias-mh17-probe-panel/ |title=MH370 search coordinator to lead Australia's MH17 probe Panel |agency=Indo-Asian News Service |website=Biharprabha News |access-date=21 July 2014}} Approximately 200 special forces soldiers from Australia were also deployed to provide support for the JIT investigators.{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2016/tony-abbotts-office-floated-sending-australian-troops-into-ukraine-conflict-defence-expert-claims-20160612-gphbab.html |title=Tony Abbott's office floated sending Australian troops into Ukraine conflict, defence expert claims |last1=Wroe |first1=David |date=13 June 2017 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=13 October 2017 |quote=In the end, Australia quietly deployed about 200 special forces soldiers in a low-key role supporting police investigators.}} The United Kingdom sent six investigators from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) and the UK Foreign Office sent extra consular staff to Ukraine.{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/07/19/malaysia-airlines-flight-mh17_n_5601582.html |title=Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17: British Investigators Join Probe in Ukraine Amid Fears of Evidence Tampering |website=The Huffington Post |date=19 July 2014 |access-date=19 July 2014}} It took until late July before the full international team could start working at the crash site,{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/01/mh17-investigators-reach-crash-site-ukraine-search-bodies |title=MH17 investigators reach crash site two weeks after plane brought down |first=Shaun |last=Walker |date=1 August 2014 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=2 October 2014}} under the leadership of the Dutch Ministry of Defence.{{cite web |url=http://www.houseofrepresentatives.nl/sites/www.houseofrepresentatives.nl/files/news_items/140728ambtelijke_briefing_mh17_beknopt_engels_1.doc |title=Summary Report of a Briefing at Civil Service Level |website=House of Representatives |date=28 July 2014 |access-date=2 October 2014 |archive-date=16 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140816210718/http://www.houseofrepresentatives.nl/sites/www.houseofrepresentatives.nl/files/news_items/140728ambtelijke_briefing_mh17_beknopt_engels_1.doc |url-status=dead }}

On 30 July 2014, a Ukrainian representative said that pro-Russian rebels had mined approaches to the crash site and moved heavy artillery.{{cite news |url=https://online.wsj.com/articles/still-no-safe-passage-to-malaysia-airlines-crash-site-1406714025 |title=Still No Safe Passage to Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Crash Site in Eastern Ukraine |first1=Alexander |last1=Kolyandr |first2=Gabriele |last2=Steinhauser |date=30 July 2014 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=2 September 2014}}

On 6 August 2014, the experts left the crash site due to concerns about their safety.{{cite news |url=http://www.outlookindia.com/news/article/21-More-MH17-Crash-Victims-Identified-Experts-Leave-Site/854102 |title=21 More MH17 Crash Victims Identified, Experts Leave Site |date=8 August 2014 |newspaper=Outlook India |agency=Press Trust of India |access-date=17 August 2014}} In mid-September they unsuccessfully attempted to regain access to the site.{{cite web |url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/netherlands-deploys-more-experts-to-probe-mh17-crash/498540-2.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914075300/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/netherlands-deploys-more-experts-to-probe-mh17-crash/498540-2.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 September 2014 |title=Netherlands deploys more experts to probe MH17 crash |agency=Press Trust of India |website=CNN-IBNLive |date=13 September 2014 |access-date=14 September 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://news.oneindia.in/international/additional-mh17-crash-investigators-return-to-netherlands-1525660.html#infinite-scroll-1 |title=Additional MH17 crash investigators return to Netherlands |website=Oneindia.in |date=20 September 2014 |access-date=2 October 2014}} On 13 October 2014, a Dutch-Ukrainian team resumed recovery of victims' personal belongings.{{cite news |url=http://www.newsweek.com/dutch-experts-help-recover-mh17-crash-items-despite-nearby-clashes-277024 |title=Dutch Experts Help Recover MH17 Crash Items Despite Nearby Clashes |newspaper=Newsweek |date=13 October 2014 |access-date=13 October 2014}} In mid-November 2014, work was undertaken to remove part of the wreckage from the crash site. Earlier efforts by the recovery team to salvage the MH17 wreckage had been frustrated by disagreements with the local rebels.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30000967 |title=MH17 crash: Dutch salvage team 'unable to start' |date=11 November 2014 |website=BBC News |access-date=2 December 2014}}{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26248275 |title=Ukraine crisis: Timeline |website=BBC News |date=13 November 2014 |access-date=2 December 2014}} The recovery operation took a week. The debris was transported to the Netherlands where investigators reconstructed parts of the aircraft.{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-24/dutch-complete-mh17-wreckage-recovery-in-ukraine/5912572 |title=MH17: Dutch complete recovery of Malaysia Airlines wreckage in eastern Ukraine |date=24 November 2014 |agency=Agence France-Presse |website=ABC News |access-date=24 November 2014}}

In August 2015, possible Buk missile launcher parts were found at the crash site by the Dutch-led joint investigation team (JIT).{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/mh17-crash-investigators-find-parts-of-buk-missile-possibly-used-to-shoot-plane-down-10450053.html |title=MH17 crash: Investigators find possible parts of Buk missile used to shoot plane down |last1=Dearden |first1=Lizzie |date=11 August 2015 |newspaper=The Independent |access-date=11 August 2015}}{{cite web |url=https://www.om.nl/vaste-onderdelen/zoeken/@90384/investigation-into/ |title=Investigation into possible Buk-missile-parts |date=11 August 2015 |website=Openbaar Ministerie (Dutch public prosecution service) |access-date=11 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200123171458/https://www.om.nl/vaste-onderdelen/zoeken/@90384/investigation-into/ |archive-date=23 January 2020}}

File:Buk-M1-2 9A310M1-2.jpg launcher, similar to that used in the incident]]

{{external media |float=right |width= |image1= |audio1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20140802001334/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbyZYgSXdyw Pro-Russian rebels discuss the shooting down of an aircraft] Intercepted phone calls, verified with voice recognition by the U.S. National Security Agency,{{cite news |url=http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2014/07/22/3762980/us-officials-we-still-dont-know.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140830094724/http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2014/07/22/3762980/us-officials-we-still-dont-know.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 August 2014 |title=Washington: U.S. officials still don't know who shot down Malaysian airliner |last=Landay |first=Jonathan S. |date=22 July 2014 |newspaper=The Bellingham Herald |access-date=24 July 2014 }} between rebels discussing which rebel group shot down the aircraft and initial reports that it was a civilian aircraft. Audio (in Russian) released by the Security Service of Ukraine with English subtitles.{{cite web |url=http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/militants-admit-shooting-down-mh17-reports-6031634 |title=Militants admit to shooting down MH17 – reports |website=1News |date=18 July 2014 |access-date=10 August 2014}}{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/07/20/watch-ukraines-pro-russian-rebels-discuss-mh17s-black-box-in-secret-recording/ |title=Watch: Ukraine's pro-Russian rebels discuss MH17's black box in secret recording |last=Demirjian |first=Karoun |date=20 July 2014 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=10 August 2014}}}}

Soon after the crash both American and Ukrainian officials said that a 9M38 series surface-to-air missile strike was the most likely cause.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10977644/MH17-what-we-know-two-days-after-Malaysia-Airlines-crash-over-Ukraine.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10977644/MH17-what-we-know-two-days-after-Malaysia-Airlines-crash-over-Ukraine.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=MH17: what we know two days after Malaysia Airlines crash over Ukraine |last=Ensor |first=Josie |date=19 July 2014 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=19 July 2014}}{{cbignore}} If so, then the missile was fired from a mobile Soviet-designed Buk missile system (NATO reporting name: SA-11 "Gadfly"). At the time, Buk was the only surface-to-air missile system known to be deployed in the region that was capable of reaching the cruising altitude of commercial air traffic.{{cite news |url=http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/31522/Vliegtuigcrash-in-Oekraine/article/detail/3692229/2014/07/19/De-bewijsstukken-Wie-schoot-MH17-neer.dhtml |title=De bewijsstukken: Wie schoot MH17 neer? |first=Wil |last=Thijssen |date=19 July 2014 |newspaper=de Volkskrant |access-date=19 July 2014 |language=nl}}{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-fg-satellites-ukraine-missile-20140717-story.html |title=High-tech spycraft tracked missile's path to Malaysia Airlines jet |first1=Ralph |last1=Vartabedian |first2=W.J. |last2=Hennigan |date=17 July 2014 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=21 July 2014}}{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10993020/MH17-why-the-culprits-may-never-be-caught.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10993020/MH17-why-the-culprits-may-never-be-caught.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=MH17: why the culprits may never be caught |first=Robert |last=Mendick |date=27 July 2014 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-23/mh17-likely-shot-down-by-accident-by-russian-separatists/5616748 |title=MH17 likely shot down by mistake by Russian separatists, US intelligence official says |website=ABC News (Australia) |date=23 July 2014 |access-date=23 July 2014}}{{cite news |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/sbu-releases-more-conversations-implicating-russia-in-shooting-down-malaysia-airlines-flight-video-transcript-2-356778.html |title=SBU releases more conversations implicating Russia in shooting down Malaysia Airlines flight (Video, Transcript) |newspaper=Kyiv Post |date=14 July 2014 |access-date=18 July 2014}} Such systems, unless they receive information from larger networks, have limited capacity to distinguish between military and civilian aircraft.{{Cite web |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/529156/how-can-a-civilian-plane-accidentally-be-shot-down/ |title=Design of Surface-to-Air Missile Systems Makes Accidents Far from Improbable |last=Majumdar |first=Dave |date=18 July 2014 |website=MIT Technology Review |access-date=12 March 2020}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/the-flaw-in-the-buk-missile-system-2014-7 |title=This Flaw In The Buk Missile System Makes It Really Easy To Accidentally Shoot Down A Passenger Jet |last=Rosen |first=Armin |date=18 July 2014 |website=Business Insider |access-date=12 March 2020}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2014/07/18/did-the-ukrainian-rebels-even-know-they-were-shooting-at-a-civilian-aircraft/ |title=Did the Ukrainian rebels even know they were shooting at a civilian aircraft? |last=Fung |first=Brian |date=18 July 2014 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=12 March 2020}}

According to defence analyst Reed Foster (from Jane's Information Group), the contour of the aluminium and the blistering of the paint around many of the holes on the aircraft fragments indicate that small, high-velocity fragments entered the aircraft externally, a damage pattern indicative of a Buk.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/07/21/world/europe/wreckage-offers-clues-on-why-flight-17-went-down.html |title=Wreckage Offers Clues on Why Flight 17 Went Down |date=21 July 2014 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=23 July 2014}} Ballistics specialist Stephan Fruhling of the Australian National University's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre concurred with this, explaining that since it struck the cockpit rather than an engine it was probably a radar guided, rather than heat seeking, missile equipped with a proximity fuzed warhead such as a Buk.{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/photo-of-mh17-wreckage-proves-missile-attack-claims-report-20140722-zvjur.html |title=Photo of MH17 wreckage proves missile attack, claims report |first=Rose |last=Powell |date=22 July 2014 |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=23 July 2014}}

Shortly after the crash, Igor Girkin, leader of the Donbas separatists, was reported to have posted on social media network VKontakte, taking credit for downing a Ukrainian An-26.{{cite web |url=https://vk.com/wall-57424472_7256 |title=Сводки от Стрелкова Игоря Ивановича |trans-title=Reports from Igor Ivanovich Strelkov |date=17 July 2014 |website=VK (service) |access-date=22 October 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717155720/https://vk.com/wall-57424472_7256 |archive-date=17 July 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.interpretermag.com/evidence-of-separatists-possession-of-buk-system-before-downing-of-mh17/ |title=Evidence of Separatists' Possession of Buk System Before Downing of MH17 |last=Fitzpatrick |first=Catherine A. |date=27 July 2014 |website=The Interpreter |publisher=Institute of Modern Russia |access-date=25 February 2015}} This news was repeated by channels in Russia, with LifeNews reporting "a new victory of Donetsk self-defence who shot down yet another Ukrainian airplane". Russian news agency TASS also reported eyewitness accounts claiming that the Donbas militia had just shot down a Ukrainian An-26 military aircraft with a missile.{{cite web |url=http://en.itar-tass.com/world/741164 |title=Donetsk People's Republic militia downs another Ukraine's An-26 plane – eyewitnesses |date=17 July 2014 |website=Information Telegraph Agency of Russia |access-date=18 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719004239/http://en.itar-tass.com/world/741164 |archive-date=19 July 2014 |ref=TASS2}} The separatists later denied involvement, saying they did not have the equipment or training to hit a target at that altitude.{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/attack-on-flight-mh17-after-the-tragedy-the-accusations-rain-down-20140718-zumq4.html |title=Attack on Flight MH17: After the tragedy, the accusations rain down |first=Rick |last=Feneley |date=18 July 2014 |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=10 August 2014}}{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/comment/smh-editorial/mh17-ultimate-responsibility-lies-with-putin-20140718-zuc0v.html |title=MH17: Ultimate responsibility lies with Putin |newspaper=The Age |date=18 July 2014 |access-date=10 August 2014 |archive-date=22 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140722175438/http://www.theage.com.au/comment/smh-editorial/mh17-ultimate-responsibility-lies-with-putin-20140718-zuc0v.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2014/0717/Web-evidence-points-to-pro-Russia-rebels-in-downing-of-MH17-video |title=Web evidence points to pro-Russia rebels in downing of MH17 (+video) |website=The Christian Science Monitor |date=17 July 2014 |access-date=10 August 2014}} Russian media also reported that Alexander Borodai called one of the Moscow media managers 40 minutes after the crash, saying that "likely we shot down a civilian airliner".{{cite web |url=http://www.interpretermag.com/novaya-gazeta-editor-boroday-called-moscow-press-about-downing-of-civilian-airliner/ |title=Novaya Gazeta Editor: Boroday Called Moscow Press About Downing of Civilian Airliner |last=Fitzpatrick |first=Catherine A. |date=13 August 2014 |website=The Interpreter |publisher=Institute of Modern Russia |access-date=25 February 2015}}

Witnesses in Torez reported sightings on the day of the incident of what appeared to be a Buk missile launcher,{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/22/ukraine-sightings-missile-launcher-mh17?CMP=twt_gu |title=Ukrainians report sightings of missile launcher on day of MH17 crash |last1=Walker |first1=Shaun |date=22 July 2014 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=23 July 2014}} and AP journalists reported sightings of a Buk system in separatist controlled Snizhne. The witness reports backed up photographs and videos which had been posted online, of the Buk launcher in rebel-held territory.

On 19 July 2014, Vitaly Nayda, the chief of the Counter Intelligence Department of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), told a news conference, "We have compelling evidence that this terrorist act was committed with the help of the Russian Federation. We know clearly that the crew of this system were Russian citizens."{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine-crisis-intelligence/ukraine-says-has-compelling-evidence-russian-crew-shot-down-malaysian-plane-idUSL6N0PU0FB20140719 |title=Ukraine says has 'compelling evidence' Russian crew shot down Malaysian plane |last1=Polityuk |first1=Pavel |last2=Piper |first2=Elizabeth |date=19 July 2014 |website=Reuters |publication-place=Kiev |editor1-last=Ireland |editor1-first=Louise |access-date=19 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719125225/https://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/19/us-ukraine-crisis-intelligence-idUSKBN0FO0GD20140719 |archive-date=19 July 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://espreso.tv/news/2014/07/19/raketnym_kompleksom_buk_yakyy_zbyv_boeing_777_keruvaly_rosiyany___sbu |title=Ракетним комплексом "Бук", який збив Boeing-777 керували росіяни, – СБУ |trans-title=The Buk missile system which shot down Boeing-777 was operated by Russians, – SBU |date=19 July 2014 |website=Espreso.tv |agency=RBK-Ukraine |access-date=19 July 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/07/19/233825/ukraine-video-claims-proof-of.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1 |title=Ukraine video claims proof of Russia-supplied anti-aircraft system |last=Schofield |first=Matthew |date=19 July 2014 |website=McClatchyDC |access-date=20 July 2014}} He cited what he said were recorded conversations in which separatists expressed satisfaction to Russian intelligence agents that they had brought down an aircraft.{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulroderickgregory/2014/07/18/smoking-guns-russian-separatists-shot-down-malaysian-plane/ |title=Smoking Guns: Russian Separatists Shot Down Malaysian Flight MH17; Putin Must Be Held Responsible |first=Paul Roderick |last=Gregory |website=Forbes |date=18 July 2014}}{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulroderickgregory/2014/07/19/what-more-smoking-guns-are-needed-for-mh17-the-worlds-first-sam-terrorism/ |title=Here Are The Intercepted Transcripts Indicating Russian Rebels Shot Down Malaysian Flight MH17 |first=Paul Roderick |last=Gregory |date=19 July 2014 |website=Forbes |access-date=22 July 2014}} One of the separatists acknowledged that the conversations had taken place, but denied that they were related to the crash of MH17 and blamed the Ukrainian government for shooting it down.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28357880 |title=MH17 Malaysia plane crash in Ukraine: What we know |work=BBC News |date=17 July 2014 |access-date=21 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718121104/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28357880 |archive-date=18 July 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://hosted2.ap.org/PASCR/a5050f4ad4f44dafab85bb41a15281cf/Article_2014-07-17-EU--Ukraine-Plane/id-080a6229c3e249c3b05226215d0da426 |title=Both sides in Ukraine deny shooting down plane |first1=Peter |last1=Leonard |first2=Mstyslav |last2=Chernov |date=17 July 2014 |website=Associated Press |access-date=21 July 2014}}{{cite news |url=http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/07/17/malaysian-passenger-plane-was-shot-down-by-rebels-intercepted-phone-calls-prove-ukraines-president-says/ |title=Malaysian plane was shot down by rebels, intercepted phone calls prove, Ukraine's president says |newspaper=National Post |agency=Associated Press via Postmedia Network |date=17 July 2014 |access-date=17 July 2014}} According to Nayda, a Buk launcher used in the shoot-down was moved back into Russia the night after the attack. The SBU released another recording, which they said was of pro-Russian-separatist leader Igor Bezler being told of an approaching aircraft two minutes before MH17 was shot down. Bezler said the recording was real, but referred to a different incident.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/29/-sp-ukraine-rebel-igor-bezler-interview-demon |title=An audience with Ukraine rebel chief Igor Bezler, the Demon of Donetsk |last=Walker |first=Shaun |date=29 July 2014 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=8 September 2014}} The head of the SBU, Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, later claimed that rebels had intended to shoot down a Russian airliner in a false flag operation to give Russia a pretext to invade Ukraine, but shot down MH17 by mistake.{{cite web |url=http://www.nrcu.gov.ua/en/148/573400/ |title=Separatists planned terrorist attacks against Aeroflot aircraft on day of MH17 crash as pretext for Russian invasion into Ukraine- SBU chief |date=7 August 2014 |website=Radio Ukraine International |access-date=21 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129041421/http://www.nrcu.gov.ua/en/148/573400/ |archive-date=29 November 2014}}{{cite news |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2014/08/08/ukraine-says-rebels-mistook-doomed-flight-mh17-for-aeroflot-plane-a38140 |title=Ukraine Says Rebels Mistook Doomed Flight MH17 for Aeroflot Plane |last=Dolgov |first=Anna |date=8 August 2014 |newspaper=The Moscow Times |access-date=21 November 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.sbu.gov.ua/sbu/control/en/publish/article?art_id=129860 |title=Terrorists and militants planned cynical terrorist attack at Aeroflot civil aircraft |date=7 August 2014 |website=Security Service of Ukraine |access-date=7 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721074226/http://www.sbu.gov.ua/sbu/control/en/publish/article?art_id=129860 |archive-date=21 July 2015 |url-status=dead}}

Journalists from the Associated Press in Snizhne, Ukraine reported seeing a Buk M-1 enter the town operated by a man "with unfamiliar fatigues and a distinctive Russian accent" escorted by two civilian vehicles, which then moved off in the direction where the shoot-down later occurred. According to Ukrainian counterterrorism chief, Vitaly Nayda, after downing the airliner under separatist direction, the launcher's Russian crew quickly moved it back across the border into Russia.

American officials said that satellite data from infrared sensors detected the explosion of Flight MH17.{{cite news |url=http://in.reuters.com/article/idINKBN0FN2QK20140718 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140727043955/http://in.reuters.com/article/idINKBN0FN2QK20140718 |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 July 2014 |title=U.S scrambles to determine who fired Russian-made missile at jet |first1=Phil |last1=Stewart |first2=Mark |last2=Hosenball |date=19 July 2014 |website=Reuters India |access-date=22 July 2014}} American intelligence agencies said that analysis of the launch plume and trajectory suggested the missile was fired from an area near Torez and Snizhne. The Daily Telegraph said: "The Telegraph{{'}}s own inquiries suggest the missile, an SA-11 from a Buk mobile rocket launcher, was possibly fired from a cornfield about {{convert|12|mi|km|order=flip}} to the south of the epicentre of the crash site." Other sources suggest the missile was launched from the separatist-controlled town of Chernukhino.{{cite news |author=S. |first=M.J. |date=18 July 2014 |title=Flight MH17: The Evidence |url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2014/07/flight-mh17 |access-date=17 September 2014 |newspaper=The Economist}} Several other media outlets including The Guardian, The Washington Post and the Sydney Morning Herald, reported that the aircraft was believed to have been downed by a rebel-fired missile.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/01/australia-mh17-bodies-retrieved-from-crash-site-within-days |title=Australia says all MH17 bodies should be retrieved from crash site within days |agency=Australian Associated Press |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=4 August 2014}}{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/07/20/the-evidence-that-may-prove-pro-russian-separatists-shot-down-mh17/ |title=The evidence that may prove pro-Russian separatists shot down MH17 |first=Ishaan |last=Tharoor |date=20 July 2014 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=3 August 2014}}{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/ukraine-war-zone-tempers-federal-police-attempts-to-access-mh17-crash-site-20140801-zzkxy.html |title=Ukraine war zone tempers Federal Police attempts to access MH17 crash site |first=Paul |last=McGeough |date=14 June 2012 |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=4 August 2014}}

On 28 July 2014, Ukrainian security official Andriy Lysenko announced, at a press conference, that black box recorder analysis had revealed that the aircraft had been brought down by shrapnel that caused "massive explosive decompression." Dutch officials were reported to be "stunned" by what they saw as a "premature announcement" and said that they had not provided this information.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/mh17-crash-black-boxes-show-plane-suffered-massive-explosive-decompression-following-shrapnel-hit-9632881.html |title=MH17 crash: Black boxes show plane suffered 'massive explosive decompression' following shrapnel hit |first=Natasha |last=Culzac |date=28 July 2014 |newspaper=The Independent |access-date=28 July 2014}}

On 8 September 2014, the BBC released new material by John Sweeney who cited three civilian witnesses from Donbas who saw the Buk launcher in the rebel-controlled territory on the day when MH17 crashed. Two witnesses said the crew of the launcher and a military vehicle escorting it spoke with Moscow accents.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-29109398 |title=MH17 disaster: Russians 'controlled Buk missile system' |website=BBC News |first=John |last=Sweeney |date=8 September 2014 |access-date=9 September 2014}} On the same day Ignat Ostanin, a Russian journalist, published an analysis of photos and films of Buk units moving in Russia and Ukraine in the days before and after the MH17 crash. According to Ostanin, the markings on the specific launcher suspected of being used to shoot MH17, together with the number plates of the large goods vehicle that carried the launcher, suggested that it belonged to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Air Defence Forces of the Russian Ground Forces.{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulroderickgregory/2015/04/02/is-the-mh17-joint-investigation-team-avoiding-the-question-of-kremlin-guilt/ |title=Is The MH17 Joint Investigation Team Avoiding The Question of Kremlin Guilt? |last=Gregory |first=Paul Roderick |date=2 April 2015 |website=Forbes |access-date=3 April 2015}}{{cite web |url=https://bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2014/09/08/images-show-the-buk-that-downed-flight-mh17-inside-russia-controlled-by-russian-troops/ |title=Images Show the Buk that Downed Flight MH17, Inside Russia, Controlled by Russian Troops |last=Ostanin |first=Iggy |date=8 September 2014 |website=Bellingcat |access-date=9 September 2014}}

On 8 October 2014, the president of the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) gave a presentation about MH17 to a German parliamentary committee overseeing intelligence activities. According to Der Spiegel, the report contained a detailed analysis which concluded that pro-Russian separatists had used a captured Ukrainian Buk system to shoot down Flight MH17. The report also noted that "Russian claims the missile had been fired by Ukrainian soldiers and that a Ukrainian fighter jet had been flying close to the passenger jet were false".{{cite news |url=http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/mh17-laut-bnd-waren-separatisten-fuer-absturz-verantwortlich-a-997885.html |title=Ostukraine: BND macht Separatisten für MH17-Absturz verantwortlich |trans-title=Eastern Ukraine: BND says separatists are responsible for MH17 crash |newspaper=Der Spiegel |language=de |date=19 October 2014 |access-date=19 October 2014}}{{cite news |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/10/20/world/germany-says-ukraine-rebels-downed-mh17-seized-missiles-report/ |title=Germany says Ukraine rebels downed MH17 with seized missiles: report |agency=Agence France-Presse |newspaper=The Japan Times |date=20 October 2014 |access-date=20 October 2014}} "He also said Ukrainian photos had been "manipulated", the magazine reported but did not elaborate on what the pictures showed, who had provided them or altered them." The Attorney General of Germany opened an investigation against unknown persons due to a suspected war crime.{{cite news |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/german-intelligence-blames-pro-russian-separatists-for-mh17-downing-a-997972.html |title=Deadly Ukraine Crash: German Intelligence Claims Pro-Russian Separatists Downed MH17 |newspaper=Der Spiegel |date=19 October 2014 |access-date=19 October 2014}}

Between November 2014 and May 2016, UK-based investigative collective Bellingcat made a series of claims, based on their examination of photos in social media and other open-source information. Bellingcat said that the launcher used to shoot down the aircraft was a Buk of the Russian 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade based in Kursk, which had been transported from Donetsk to Snizhne and was controlled by separatists in Ukraine on the day of the attack,{{cite web |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Origin-of-the-Separatists-Buk-A-Bellingcat-Investigation1.pdf |title=MH17: Source of the Separatists' Buk |author=Bellingcat MH17 Investigation Team |date=8 November 2014 |website=Bellingcat |access-date=16 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109132619/https://www.bellingcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Origin-of-the-Separatists-Buk-A-Bellingcat-Investigation1.pdf |archive-date=9 November 2014 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/journalists-find-solid-russian-ties-to-missile-that-hit-mh17-371161.html |title=Journalists find 'solid' Russian ties to missile that hit MH17 |last=Gorchinskaya |first=Katya |date=9 November 2014 |newspaper=Kyiv Post |url-access=limited |access-date=18 June 2015}}{{cite news |url=http://www.newsweek.com/meet-eliot-higgins-putins-mh17-nemesis-345485 |title=Meet Eliot Higgins, Putin's MH17 Nemesis |last=Tucker |first=Maxim |date=22 June 2015 |newspaper=Newsweek |access-date=24 June 2015}}{{cite web |url=http://www.dw.com/en/bellingcat-new-evidence-against-russian-soldiers-on-mh17/a-18959585 |title=Bellingcat: New evidence against Russian soldiers on MH17 |last=Ilya |first=Koval |date=5 January 2016 |website=Deutsche Welle |access-date=4 May 2016}} and that the Buk launcher had a serial number 332.{{cite web |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2016/05/03/the_lost_digit/ |title=The Lost Digit: Buk 3x2 |date=3 May 2016 |website=Bellingcat |access-date=4 May 2016}}

On 22 December 2014, the Dutch news service RTL Nieuws published a statement from an unnamed local resident who said he had witnessed the shooting down of MH17, which he said was shot down by a missile from rebel territory. He had taken photographs which he had passed to the SBU.{{cite web |url=http://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/binnenland/ooggetuige-mh17-mijn-doel-rechtvaardigheid |title=Ooggetuige MH17: 'Mijn doel is rechtvaardigheid' |trans-title=Eyewitness of MH17: "My goal is justice" |website=RTL News |date=22 December 2014 |access-date=23 December 2014 |language=nl |archive-date=23 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223051118/http://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/binnenland/ooggetuige-mh17-mijn-doel-rechtvaardigheid |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/new-competing-claims-on-downing-of-mh17/26760591.html |title=New Competing Claims on Downing of MH17 |last=Kates |first=Glenn |date=24 December 2014 |website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty}}

In January 2015, a report produced by the German investigative team CORRECT!V concluded a Buk surface-to-air missile launcher operated by the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade shot down MH17.{{cite news |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/kyiv-post-plus/new-report-says-it-proves-russian-forces-downed-flight-mh17-377063.html |title=New report says it proves Russian forces downed flight MH17 |date=10 January 2015 |first=Maxim |last=Tucker |newspaper=Kyiv Post |access-date=9 February 2015}} Other circumstantial evidence was presented separately by various parties that supported this version, identifying specific launcher vehicle, operator name, truck transporting it and its alleged route through Russia and Ukraine.{{cite web |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/evidence-mounts-that-russia-supplied-the-missiles-that-shot-down-mh17-in-ukraine-2015-5?IR=T |title=Evidence mounts that Russia supplied the missiles that shot down MH17 in Ukraine |first=Robert |last=Coalson |date=13 May 2015 |website=Business Insider |access-date=13 June 2015}}

In March 2015, Reuters published statements from named witnesses from Chervonyi Zhovten ({{langx|uk|Червоний Жовтень}}), close to Torez and Snizhne, who said they saw the Buk rocket passing over the village when it was fired from a field around 1.5 km away. It also published a statement from a witness who was said to be a separatist fighter (referred to by first name only) who confirmed that the launcher was placed in that area on the day of the Boeing crash to prevent Ukrainian airstrikes.{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-airliner-idUSKBN0M81XF20150312 |title=Exclusive: From 'Red October' village, new evidence on downing of Malaysian plane over Ukraine |last1=Zverev |first1=Anton |last2=Tsvetkova |first2=Maria |last3=Zinets |first3=Natalia |last4=Escritt |first4=Thomas |last5=Hosenball |first5=Mark |date=12 March 2015 |website=Reuters |editor-last=Trevelyan |editor-first=Mark |access-date=12 March 2015}}

In July 2015, News Corp Australia published the transcript of a 17-minute video recorded at the scene shortly after the crash. The transcript and published segments of the video indicated that Russian-backed rebels arrived at the crash site expecting to find the wreckage of a military aircraft and crew who had parachuted from the aircraft.{{cite web |url=http://www.news.com.au/national/full-transcript-russian-backed-rebels-ransack-the-wreckage-of-mh17-in-shocking-17-minute-video/story-e6frfkp9-1227444629703 |title=Full transcript: Russian-backed rebels ransack the wreckage of MH17 in shocking 17-minute video |date=17 July 2015 |website=news.com.au |access-date=17 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717004444/http://www.news.com.au/national/full-transcript-russian-backed-rebels-ransack-the-wreckage-of-mh17-in-shocking-17-minute-video/story-e6frfkp9-1227444629703 |archive-date=17 July 2015 |url-status=dead}}

In May 2016, Stratfor released satellite imagery taken five hours before the crash which showed a Russian Buk system travelling on a flatbed truck east through Makiivka, 40 km away from Snizhne. Stratfor's concluded that a Buk system had moved from the Russian border toward Donetsk on 15 July 2014, and then moved back to the east on the afternoon of 17 July 2014, hours before Flight MH17 was shot down.{{cite web |url=https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/examining-evidence-russias-involvement-malaysia-airlines-crash |title=Examining the Evidence of Russia's Involvement in a Malaysia Airlines Crash |date=13 May 2016 |website=Stratfor |access-date=16 May 2016}}

On 9 September 2014, the preliminary report was released by the Dutch Safety Board (DSB).{{cite web |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2014/09/09/world/europe/netherlands-ukraine-mh17-report/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 |title=Report: MH17 hit by burst of 'high-energy objects' from outside |last=Mullen |first=Jethro |date=9 September 2014 |website=CNN |access-date=25 September 2014}}{{cite web |url=https://www.onderzoeksraad.nl/nl/media/inline/2019/1/10/prem_rapport_mh_17_en_interactief2.pdf |title=Preliminary report – Crash involving Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 Flight MH17 |website=Dutch Safety Board |date=17 July 2014 |access-date=24 September 2014 |archive-date=14 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414201244/https://www.onderzoeksraad.nl/nl/media/inline/2019/1/10/prem_rapport_mh_17_en_interactief2.pdf |url-status=dead }}{{Reference page|page=16}} This preliminary report concluded that there was no evidence of any technical or operational failure in the aircraft or from the crew prior to the ending of the CVR and FDR recordings at 13.20:03 hrs (UTC). The report also said that "damage observed on the forward fuselage and cockpit section of the aircraft appears to indicate that there were impacts from a large number of high-energy objects from outside the aircraft". According to the investigators, this damage probably led to a loss of structural integrity that caused an in-flight break-up first of the forward parts of the aircraft and then of the remainder with an expansive geographic spread of the aircraft's pieces.

Tjibbe Joustra, Chairman of the Dutch Safety Board, explained that the investigation thus far pointed "towards an external cause of the MH17 crash", but determining the exact cause required further investigation. They also said that they aimed to publish the final report within a year of the crash date.{{cite web |url=http://www.onderzoeksraad.nl/en/onderzoek/2049/investigation-crash-mh17-17-july-2014/preliminary-report/1562/preliminary-report-points-towards-external-cause-of-mh17-crash |title=Preliminary report points towards external cause of MH17 crash |website=Dutch Safety Board |access-date=14 October 2014 |archive-date=19 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019004330/http://www.onderzoeksraad.nl/en/onderzoek/2049/investigation-crash-mh17-17-july-2014/preliminary-report/1562/preliminary-report-points-towards-external-cause-of-mh17-crash |url-status=dead }}

File:MH17 Missile Impact.webm

The Dutch Safety Board (DSB) issued its final report on the crash on 13 October 2015. The report concluded that the crash was caused by a Buk 9M38-series surface-to-air missile with a 9N314M warhead. The warhead detonated outside and above the left-hand side of the cockpit. Fragments from the exploding warhead killed the three people in the cockpit and caused structural damage to the airliner leading to an in-flight break-up resulting in a wreckage area of {{convert|50|km2|sqmi}} and loss of the lives of all 298 occupants. Based on evidence they were able to exclude meteor strikes, the aircraft having technical defects, a bomb, and an air-to-air attack as causes of the crash. Calculating the trajectory of the missile, the Dutch National Aerospace Laboratory determined that it was fired within a {{convert|320|km2|sqmi|adj=on}} area southeast of Torez. Narrowing down a specific launch site was outside the DSB's mandate.{{cite report |url=https://www.onderzoeksraad.nl/en/media/attachment/2018/7/10/debcd724fe7breport_mh17_crash.pdf |title=Crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 Hrabove, Ukraine, 17 July 2014 |publisher=Dutch Safety Board |date=13 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151013141325/http://cdn.onderzoeksraad.nl/documents/report-mh17-crash-en.pdf |archive-date=13 October 2015 |url-status=live}}{{Reference page|page=147}} The findings did not specify who launched the Buk missile, but the area identified by the DSB was controlled by pro-Russian separatists at the time of the downing, according to the final report.{{cite web |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/10/dutch-board-russian-missile-downed-mh17-151013112210934.html |title=Dutch board says Russian-made missile downed MH17 |date=13 October 2015 |website=Al Jazeera English |access-date=2021-01-21}}

In addition to the technical investigation, the selection of the flight route was also investigated by the DSB.{{cite web |url=http://www.onderzoeksraad.nl/en/onderzoek/2049/investigation-crash-mh17-17-july-2014/onderzoek/1543/dutch-safety-board-heads-investigation-investigation-effort-in-full-swing-black-boxes-currently-being-read-out |title=Investigation crash MH17, 17 July 2014 |website=Dutch Safety Board |access-date=24 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140925192711/http://onderzoeksraad.nl/en/onderzoek/2049/investigation-crash-mh17-17-july-2014/onderzoek/1543/dutch-safety-board-heads-investigation-investigation-effort-in-full-swing-black-boxes-currently-being-read-out |archive-date=25 September 2014}} Some airlines had avoided eastern Ukrainian airspace prior to the MH17 shootdown, while many others, including 62 operators from 32 countries, had continued to fly routes over the region.{{Reference page|page=224}}{{cite journal |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12198-014-0148-0 |title=Flight MH 17 and State Responsibility for Ensuring Safety and Security of Air Transport |journal=Journal of Transportation Security |last1=Abeyratne |first1=Ruwantissa |date=1 December 2014 |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=347–348 |doi=10.1007/s12198-014-0148-0 |s2cid=167781561 |issn=1938-7741|url-access=subscription }} The DSB judged that the Ukrainian authorities should have closed the airspace above eastern Ukraine prior to the incident due to the ongoing conflict and earlier military shootdowns,{{rp|10}}{{cite news |url=https://news.aviation-safety.net/2015/10/13/dutch-safety-board-mh17-brought-down-by-missile-in-airspace-that-should-have-been-closed/ |title=Dutch Safety Board: MH17 brought down by missile in airspace that should have been closed |website=ASN News |date=13 October 2015 |access-date=4 October 2019}} but noted that states involved in armed conflicts rarely did so.{{Reference page|page=11}} It recommended that such states should exercise more caution when evaluating their airspace, and that operators should more thoroughly assess the risks when selecting routes over areas of conflict.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34518473 |title=MH17 report: Five key findings from the Dutch Safety Board |newspaper=BBC News |date=13 October 2015 |access-date=13 October 2015}}

The criminal investigation into the downing of MH17 is being led by the Public Prosecution Service of the Dutch Ministry of Justice, and is the largest in Dutch history, involving dozens of prosecutors and 200 investigators.{{cite web |date=15 August 2014 |editor=Xuequan |editor-first=Mu |title=MH17 criminal investigation largest ever in the Netherlands |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2014-08/15/c_126873336.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826002055/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2014-08/15/c_126873336.htm |archive-date=26 August 2014 |access-date=27 October 2014 |agency=Xinhua News Agency}} Investigators interviewed witnesses and examined forensic samples, satellite data, intercepted communications, and information on the Web.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29180887 |title=MH17 crash: Investigation focuses on '25 metal shards' |website=BBC News |date=12 September 2014 |access-date=27 October 2014}} Participating in the investigation along with the Netherlands, are the four other members of the joint investigation team (JIT), Belgium, Ukraine, Australia, and lastly, Malaysia,{{cite news |url=http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/11/22/speculation-on-mh17-is-damaging-to-investigations/ |title=Speculation on MH17 is damaging to investigations |newspaper=Free Malaysia Today |agency=Bernama |date=22 November 2014 |access-date=22 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129091900/http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/11/22/speculation-on-mh17-is-damaging-to-investigations/ |archive-date=29 November 2014 |url-status=dead}} which joined in November 2014.{{cite news |url=http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/12/01/mh17-malaysia-to-be-part-of-investigating-team/ |title=MH17: Malaysia accepted as full member of probe team |newspaper=The Star |location=Petaling Jaya, Malaysia |date=1 December 2014 |access-date=2 December 2014}} Early in the investigation, the JIT eliminated accident, internal terrorist attack or air-to-air attack from another aircraft as the cause of the crash.{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/malaysia-airlines-flight-mh17-was-shot-down-from-prorussian-rebel-controlled-territory-investigation-finds-20160928-grqter.html |title=Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down from pro-Russian rebel controlled territory, investigation finds |first=Nick |last=Miller |date=29 September 2016 |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald}}

In December 2014, in a letter to the Security Council, the Netherlands' United Nations representative wrote that "the Dutch government is deliberately refraining from any speculation or accusations regarding legal responsibility for the downing of MH17".{{cite web |url=http://www.tweedekamer.nl/downloads/document?id=adbae747-b7f0-4713-ad97-1a7e1b75dcd2&title=Brief%20van%20Permanent%20Representative%20of%20the%20Kingdom%20of%20the%20Netherlands.pdf |title=Letter to President of the UNSC |first=Karel J.G. |last=van Oosterom |date=16 December 2014 |website=House of Representatives of the States General |access-date=21 December 2014}} Also in December, the assistant secretary of the United States Department of State's European and Eurasian Affairs stated that the United States had given all of the information they held, including classified information, to the Dutch investigators and to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).{{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=Jack |title=Worst Plane Crashes In History |publisher=Masterlab |year=2014 |isbn=978-8-37991-211-7}}

On 30 March 2015, the JIT released a Russian-language video calling for witnesses in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions who might have seen a Buk missile system.{{cite web |url=http://jitmh17.com/ |title=Flight MH17 |website=Joint Investigation Team |language=uk, en, nl |access-date=30 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401002153/http://jitmh17.com/ |archive-date=2015-04-01}} The video included some previously undisclosed recordings allegedly of tapped phone conversations between rebel fighters about the Buk. In one recording, of a conversation a few hours after the aircraft was shot down, a fighter says that a member of the Buk's accompanying crew had been left behind at a checkpoint. In another recording, dated the day after the shooting down, a rebel allegedly says the Buk system and its crew had been brought from Russia by "the Librarian". The video presented a "scenario" in which a Buk missile was transported on a Volvo low loader truck from Sievernyi ({{lang|ru|Сєверний}}), a town located within a kilometre of the Russian border (near Krasnodon), to Donetsk during the night of 16/17 July.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olQNpTxSnTo |title=MH17 |author=Politie International Joint Investigation Team |date=30 March 2015 |website=YouTube |language=ru|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150602044258/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olQNpTxSnTo|archive-date= 2 June 2015|url-status=dead}}

In the week following the public appeal, the JIT received more than 300 responses resulting in dozens of "serious witnesses".{{cite news |url=http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/23903198/__Bruikbare_tips_over_daders_MH17__.html |title=Tientallen bruikbare tips over MH17 |trans-title=Dozens of useful tips about MH17 |last=van der Graaf |first=Jolande |date=9 April 2015 |newspaper=De Telegraaf |language=nl |access-date=17 June 2015}}{{cite news |url=http://www.nltimes.nl/2015/04/09/hundreds-respond-to-call-for-mh17-witnesses-tips/ |title=Hundreds respond to call for MH17 witnesses |last=Van Jaarsveldt |first=Janene |date=9 April 2015 |newspaper=NL Times |access-date=17 June 2015 }}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} In 2016 the presence of the transloader of matching colour with a Buk missile was confirmed on a satellite photo of the area taken just a few hours before the downing of the airliner, which was described as "correlating with other evidence" by Stratfor who found the photo in DigitalGlobe archive.{{Cite web |url=http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/mh17-the-satellite-images-russia-doesnt-want-us-to-see/news-story/8c03f8e87971d36f70b5402ffbda16ff |title=The image Russia doesn't want the world to see |last=Killalea |first=Debra |date=17 May 2016 |website=News.com.au |access-date=16 May 2016}}

On 9 April 2015, Dutch authorities made available 569 documents concerning the shootdown. Personal information and official interviews had been redacted. A further 147 documents were not made public.{{cite web |url=https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/node/1249421 |title=Wat we niet mogen zien: 147 documenten MH17 blijven geheim |trans-title=What we must not see: 147 MH17 documents remain secret |date=8 April 2015 |website=RTL Nieuws |language=nl |access-date=30 July 2015}}

On 28 September 2016, the JIT gave a press conference in which it concluded that the aircraft was shot down with a 9M38 Buk missile fired from a rebel-controlled field near Pervomaisky (Первомайський), a town {{convert|6|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of Snizhne.{{Cite web |url=https://nltimes.nl/2016/09/28/jit-mh17-shot-missile-fired-pro-russian-rebel-controlled-field |title=JIT: MH17 shot down with missile fired from pro-Russian rebel-controlled field |date=28 September 2016 |website=NL Times}} It also found the Buk missile system used had been transported from Russia into Ukraine on the day of the crash, and then back into Russia after the crash, with one missile less than it arrived with.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-37495067 |title=MH17 missile 'came from Russia', Dutch-led investigators say |author= |date=28 September 2016 |website=BBC News Online |access-date=2 October 2016}} The JIT said they had identified 100 people, witnesses as well as suspects, who were involved in the movement of the Buk launcher, though they had not yet identified a clear chain of command to assess culpability, which was a matter for ongoing investigation. The Dutch chief prosecutor said "the evidence must stand before a court" which would render final judgement. During the investigation, the JIT recorded and assessed five billion internet pages, interviewed 200 witnesses, collected half a million photos and videos, and analysed 150,000 intercepted phone calls.{{cite web |url=https://www.om.nl/onderwerpen/mh17-crash/@96066/presentation/ |title=Presentation preliminary results criminal investigation MH17 28-09-2016 |website=Openbaar Ministerie |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200123133623/https://www.om.nl/onderwerpen/mh17-crash/@96066/presentation/ |archive-date=January 23, 2020}} According to JIT head prosecutor Fred Westerbeke the criminal investigation is based on "immense body of evidence," including testimonies of live witnesses who saw the Buk launcher, primary radar data, original photos and videos.{{Cite news |url=https://www.novayagazeta.ru/articles/2017/10/16/74192-the-purpose-is-to-bring-this-matter-to-court |title=The purpose is to bring MH17 matter to court |last=Kanygin |first=Pavel |date=16 October 2017 |newspaper=Novaya Gazeta|publication-place=Rotterdam |access-date=16 October 2017}}

File:Engineering Technologies 2010 Part3 0031 copy.jpg]]

On 24 May 2018, after extensive comparative research, the JIT concluded that the Buk that shot down the flight came from the Russian 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade in Kursk.{{cite web |url=https://www.om.nl/onderwerpen/mh17-crash/@103196/update-criminal-0/ |title=Update in criminal investigation MH17 disaster |website=Openbaar Ministerie |date=24 May 2018 |access-date=24 May 2018 |archive-date=24 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180524222602/https://www.om.nl/onderwerpen/mh17-crash/@103196/update-criminal-0/ |url-status=dead }} The head of the National Investigation Service of the Dutch police asked the eyewitnesses and insiders to share information about the identities of the Buk crew members, the instruction the crew members followed and persons responsible for the operational deployment of the involved Buk on 17 July 2014. According to Dutch Public Prosecution Service, by 24 May 2018 "the authorities of the Russian Federation have ... not reported to the JIT that a Buk of the 53rd Brigade was deployed in Eastern Ukraine and that this Buk downed flight MH17." In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia would analyse the JIT conclusion, but would acknowledge it only if it became party to the investigation.{{Cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/russia-will-analyse-dutch-findings-about-downing-of-flight-mh17-20180525-p4zhe1.html |title=Russia will analyse Dutch findings about downing of flight MH17 |date=25 May 2018 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=6 December 2020}}{{cite web |url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/3638260 |title=Владимир Путин пообещал изучить выводы следствия о катастрофе Boeing MH17 |trans-title=Vladimir Putin promised to study the findings of the investigation on the Boeing MH17 crash |newspaper=Kommersant |language=ru |date=24 May 2018 |access-date=24 May 2018}} The Russian Ministry of Defence in turn stated that no Russian Buk crossed the border with Ukraine.

On 25 May 2018 the governments of the Netherlands and Australia issued a joint statement in which they laid responsibility on Russia "for its part" in the crash. The Netherlands and Australian foreign ministers stated that they would hold Russia legally responsible for shooting the airliner down. Netherlands Foreign Minister Stef Blok stated that "the government is now taking the next step by formally holding Russia accountable," and, "The Netherlands and Australia today asked Russia to enter into talks aimed at finding a solution that would do justice to the tremendous suffering and damage caused by the downing of MH17. A possible next step is to present the case to an international court or organization for their judgment."{{cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/netherlands-australia-flight17-statement-russia-1.4677473 |title=Netherlands, Australia holding Russia 'accountable' for downing of MH17 |agency=The Associated Press |work=CBC News |date=25 May 2018 |access-date=25 May 2018}}

Several other countries and international organisations expressed their support for the JIT's conclusions and the joint statement by the Netherlands and Australia.{{Cite web |url=https://www.dw.com/en/mh17-netherlands-australia-hold-russia-responsible-for-downing-plane/a-43927520 |title=MH17: Netherlands, Australia hold Russia responsible for downing plane |date=25 May 2018 |website=Deutsche Welle |access-date=6 December 2020}}{{cite web |date=25 May 2018 |title=Internationale reacties op MH17: Rusland moet verantwoordelijkheid nemen |trans-title=International reactions to MH17: Russia must take responsibility |url=https://nos.nl/artikel/2233506-internationale-reacties-op-mh17-rusland-moet-verantwoordelijkheid-nemen.html |access-date=29 May 2018 |website=NOS |language=nl}} UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the United Kingdom "fully supports Australia and the Netherlands," calling on Russia to cooperate.{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretary-statement-on-the-mh17-investigation |title=Foreign Secretary statement on the MH17 investigation |website=Foreign & Commonwealth Office |date=25 May 2018 |access-date=29 May 2018}} High Representative Federica Mogherini of the EU stated that the European Union "calls on the Russian Federation to accept its responsibility" and to cooperate as well.{{cite web |url=http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2018/05/25/declaration-by-the-high-representative-on-behalf-of-the-eu-on-the-findings-of-the-joint-investigation-team-on-the-downing-of-flight-mh17/ |title=Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the findings of the Joint Investigation Team on the downing of flight MH17 |website=European Council |date=25 May 2018 |access-date=29 May 2018}} The German government called on Russia to "fully explain the tragedy."{{cite web |url=https://www.bundesregierung.de/Content/DE/Artikel/2018/05/2018-05-25-ukraine-mh17-gutachten.html |title=Die Schuldigen ermitteln |trans-title=Find the culprits |website=Bundesregierung |date=25 May 2018 |language=de |access-date=29 May 2018 |archive-date=12 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612115118/https://www.bundesregierung.de/Content/DE/Artikel/2018/05/2018-05-25-ukraine-mh17-gutachten.html |url-status=dead }} The US Department of State issued a statement saying that the United States "strongly support the decisions by the Netherlands and Australia," requesting Russia to acknowledge its involvement and to "cease its callous disinformation campaign."{{cite web |url=https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2018/05/282502.htm |title=Calling Russia To Account for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-17 |website=United States Department of State |date=25 May 2018 |access-date=29 May 2018}} NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on Russia to "accept responsibility and fully cooperate ... in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2166."{{cite web |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_154585.htm |title=Statement by the NATO Secretary General on MH17 investigation |website=NATO |date=25 May 2018 |access-date=29 May 2018}}

In response to the JIT's conclusions, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated that the Russians are "not involved in it."{{cite web |url=http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/57556 |title=St Petersburg International Economic Forum plenary session |website=Kremlin |date=25 May 2018 |access-date=29 May 2018}} Following release of the JIT report, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir said the JIT was making Russia a "scapegoat" and that he did not believe the Russians whom the JIT had charged were involved. Conversely the Malaysian prosecutor supported the investigation by saying the findings "are based on extensive investigations and also legal research".{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-mh17-malaysia/malaysian-pm-says-russia-being-made-a-scapegoat-for-downing-of-flight-mh17-idUSKCN1TL0OW |title=Malaysian PM says Russia being made a scapegoat for downing of flight MH17 |last1=Sipalan |first1=Joseph |website=Reuters |date=20 June 2019 |access-date=5 July 2019}}

In June 2015, the Netherlands, supported by the other JIT members, sought to create an international tribunal to prosecute those suspected of downing the Malaysian airliner, which would take up the case after the closing of the criminal investigation. The Dutch hoped that an international tribunal would induce Russian cooperation, which was considered critical.{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-mh17/exclusive-international-tribunal-looks-like-best-chance-for-mh17-justice-dutch-sources-idUSKBN0P326E20150624 |title=Exclusive: International tribunal looks like best chance for MH17 justice – Dutch sources |last=Deutsch |first=Anthony |date=23 June 2015 |website=Reuters |editor-last1=Liffey|editor-first1=Kevin |editor-last2=Chopra |editor-first2=Toby |access-date=25 June 2015}} In late June 2015, the Russian government rejected a request by the five countries on the investigative committee to form a UN tribunal which would try those responsible for the shooting down of the aircraft, calling it "not timely and counterproductive."{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/26/russia-rejects-calls-for-un-tribunal-malaysia-airlines-flight-mh17 |title=Russia rejects calls for UN tribunal to prosecute MH17 suspects |date=26 June 2015 |newspaper=The Guardian |agency=Agence France-Presse |access-date=28 June 2015}} On 8 July 2015, Malaysia, a member of the UN Security Council, distributed a draft resolution to establish such a tribunal. This resolution was jointly proposed by the five JIT member countries. Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin responded, "I don't see any future for this resolution. Unfortunately, it seems that this is an attempt to organize a grandiose, political show, which only damages efforts to find the guilty parties."{{cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/malaysia-airlines-mh17-russia-rebukes-push-for-un-tribunal-1.3146029 |title=Malaysia Airlines MH17: Russia rebukes push for UN tribunal |date=10 July 2015 |website=CBC News |access-date=10 July 2015}} Russia later circulated a rival resolution which criticised the international investigation's lack of "due transparency" and demanded those responsible be brought to justice, but which did not call for a tribunal.{{cite web |url=http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/russias-draft-mh17-crash-call-tribunal-32575088 |title=Russia's UN Draft on MH17 Crash Doesn't Call for Tribunal |agency=Associated Press |date=20 July 2015 |first=Edith M. |last=Lederer |website=ABC News |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722201823/http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/russias-draft-mh17-crash-call-tribunal-32575088 |archive-date=22 July 2015}} In a vote, Malaysia's resolution gained majority support of the UNSC, but was vetoed by Russia.{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-mh17-un-idUSKCN0Q32GS20150729 |title=Russia vetoes bid to set up tribunal for downed Flight MH17 |last=Nichols |first=Michelle |date=29 July 2015 |website=Reuters |editor-last=Oatis |editor-first=Jonathan}}

In a statement made on 5 July 2017 by the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders, it was announced that the JIT countries would prosecute any suspects identified in the downing of flight MH17 in the Netherlands and under Dutch law.{{cite web |url=https://www.government.nl/latest/news/2017/07/05/statement-by-the-minister-of-foreign-affairs-on-mh17-5-july-2017 |title=Statement by the minister of Foreign Affairs on MH17, 5 July 2017 |website=Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands |agency=Ministry of Foreign Affairs |date= 7 July 2017}} A treaty between the Netherlands and Ukraine made it possible for the Netherlands to prosecute in the cases of all 298 victims, regardless of their nationality. This treaty was signed on 7 July 2017,{{cite web |url=https://www.government.nl/topics/mh17-incident/news/2017/07/07/minister-of-security-and-justice-signs-mh17-treaty-with-ukraine |title=Minister of Security and Justice signs MH17 treaty with Ukraine |website=Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands |agency=Ministry of Security and Justice |date= 7 July 2017}} and went into force on 28 August 2018.{{Cite web |url=https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/trb-2018-162.HTML |title=Verdrag tussen het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden en Oekraïne inzake internationale juridische samenwerking met betrekking tot misdrijven die verband houden met het neerhalen van vlucht MH17 van Malaysia Airlines op 17 juli 2014 |trans-title=Convention between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Ukraine on international legal cooperation with regard to crimes related to the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on 17 July 2014 |date=7 September 2018 |website=Tractatenblad van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden |language=nl}} On 21 March 2018, the Dutch government sent legislation to the parliament, allowing the suspects involved to be prosecuted in the Netherlands under Dutch law.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-21/legislation-clears-way-for-mh17-trials-in-the-netherlands |title=Legislation Clears Way for MH17 Trials in the Netherlands |agency=Associated Press |date=21 March 2018 |website=Bloomberg.com |access-date=22 March 2018 |language=en}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.unian.info/world/10052111-dutch-court-may-be-allowed-to-prosecute-those-involved-in-mh17-crash-by-video-link.html |title=Dutch court may be allowed to prosecute those involved in MH17 crash by video link |website=UNIAN |date=22 March 2018 |access-date=13 April 2018}}

On 19 June 2019, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service charged four people with murder in connection with the shooting down of the aircraft: three Russians, Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinsky, and Oleg Pulatov, and one Ukrainian, Leonid Kharchenko. International arrest warrants were issued in respect of each of the accused.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-48691488 |title=Four charged with shooting down MH17 plane |date=19 June 2019 |website=BBC News Online |access-date=19 June 2019}} One of the suspects, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Pulatov, expressed his intention to join the legal process by being represented in court. Hearings in the trial began at the District Court of The Hague on 9 March 2020, with none of the accused in attendance.{{cite web |url=https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/2868589-netherlands-public-prosecution-service-brings-charges-against-four-suspects-in-mh17-case.html |title=Netherlands Public Prosecution Service brings charges against four suspects in MH17 case |date=3 February 2020 |website=Ukrinform |access-date=4 February 2020}}{{cite web |url=https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/2863987-one-of-suspects-in-mh17-case-wants-to-join-legal-proceedings.html |title=One of suspects in MH17 case wants to join legal proceedings |date=4 February 2020 |website=Ukrinform |access-date=4 February 2020}}{{cite web |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/mh17-trial-start-accused-facing-murder-charges-200309000652546.html |title=MH17 trial starts with four accused facing murder charges |date=9 March 2020 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=9 March 2020}} Igor Girkin gave an interview to journalist Graham Phillips saying he would not attend the trial because he did not recognise the court's jurisdiction over Russian citizens. He said that he was not involved in the shoot-down, and that he considered the government of Ukraine to be responsible for the loss of life, because "only a moron or a criminal would send an airliner into a zone of active hostilities".{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dArwTCTWfY |title=MH17: Igor Girkin / Strelkov Response to MH17 Accusations |last=Phillips |first=Graham |website=YouTube |date=19 June 2019}}

In July 2019, SBU arrested Vladimir Tsemakh, head of air defence in DPR-controlled Snizhne during the attack on MH17. Bellingcat described him as an important eye-witness to the events surrounding the downing of flight MH17. Bellingcat analysed his possible role and said that a video showed Tsemakh making "what appears to be a damning admission to his personal involvement in hiding the Buk missile launcher in the aftermath of its use on 17 July 2014".{{Cite web |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2019/07/09/the-arrest-of-vladimir-tsemakh-and-its-implications-for-the-mh17-investigation/ |title=The Arrest of Vladimir Tsemakh and Its Implications for the MH17 Investigation |date=9 July 2019 |website=Bellingcat |access-date=31 August 2019}} In August 2019 Russia reportedly added Tsemakh to its list in a previously agreed exchange of prisoners of war with Ukraine. In an article, The Insider website commented on Russia's motives in requesting the exchange of a Ukrainian citizen.{{Cite web |url=https://theins.ru/politika/173069 |title=Кремль признал "своим" водителя "Бука" Владимира Цемаха и требует обменять его на Сенцова |trans-title=The Kremlin recognized the "Buk" driver Vladimir Tsemakh and demands to exchange him for Sentsov |date=30 August 2019 |website=The Insider |language=ru |access-date=31 August 2019}} On 4 September 2019, an appeals court in Kyiv ruled to release Tsemakh.{{cite news |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/09/07/signaling-readiness-for-thaw-russia-and-ukraine-swap-prisoners-a67090 |title=Signaling Readiness for Thaw, Russia and Ukraine Swap Prisoners: The exchange brings peace talks between the neighboring countries closer, analysts say |last=Gershkovich |first=Evan |date=7 September 2019 |newspaper=The Moscow Times |access-date=7 September 2019}} On 7 September 2019, Tsemakh was released during a Ukraine-Russia prisoner exchange.{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/07/europe/ukraine-russia-prisoner-swap-intl/index.html |title=Film director Oleg Sentsov and MH17 suspect among those freed in Russia-Ukraine prisoner swap |last1=Lapin |first1=Denis |last2=Pavlova |first2=Olga |last3=Britton |first3=Bianca |last4=Dean |first4=Sarah |date=7 September 2019 |website=CNN |access-date=7 September 2019}} According to the Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok, the exchange had been delayed for a week so that Tsemakh could be questioned by the Dutch Public Prosecution Service as a witness about the events surrounding the downing of flight MH17. The Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the Minister of Justice and Security Ferd Grapperhaus, the JIT, and Blok added that the Netherlands regretted Tsemakh, who is a 'person of interest', being included in the exchange due to pressure on Ukraine from Russia.{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/1cf7478e-cfbf-11e9-99a4-b5ded7a7fe3f |title=Ukraine court releases man of interest to MH17 probe on bail: Move raises speculation he could be part of imminent prisoner swap between Kiev and Moscow |newspaper=Financial Times |last1=Olearchyk |first1=Roman |last2=Foy |first2=Henry |date=5 September 2019 |access-date=13 September 2019}}{{cite news |url=https://www.ad.nl/buitenland/nederland-vraagt-rusland-om-mh17-verdachte~a953df4d/ |title=Nederland vraagt Rusland om MH17-verdachte: Het Openbaar Ministerie heeft Rusland gevraagd MH17-verdachte Vladimir Tsemach uit te leveren. Dat liet het OM de nabestaanden van de vliegramp vanmiddag weten. Nederland betreurt zeer dat Oekraïne de Oekraïense separatist überhaupt aan Rusland heeft overgedragen |trans-title=The Netherlands asks Russia for MH17 suspect: The Public Prosecution Service has asked Russia to extradite MH17 suspect Vladimir Tsemach. The OM informed the relatives of the plane crash this afternoon. The Netherlands deeply regrets that Ukraine has handed over the Ukrainian separatist to Russia at all |newspaper=AD.nl |language=nl |date=7 September 2019 |access-date=13 September 2019}}{{cite web |url=https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2019/09/dutch-did-question-mh17-witness-before-he-was-returned-to-russia-minister/ |title=Dutch did question MH17 witness before he was returned to Russia: minister |website=DutchNews.nl |date=8 September 2019 |access-date=9 September 2019}} Piet Ploeg, Chairman of the victims' relatives organisation "Stichting Vliegramp MH17", called Tsemakh's release "unacceptable". The Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) requested that Tsemakh, who is not a Russian citizen, be extradited from Russia to the Netherlands. On 14 November 2019 the JIT published a new witnesses appeal and simultaneously released a number of recorded conversations of rebel leaders. JIT was particularly interested in "the command structure and the role that Russian government officials may have played."{{cite web |url=https://www.politie.nl/themas/flight-mh17/witness-appeal-crash-mh17.html |title=MH17 Witness Appeal November 2019 |website=politie.nl |access-date=14 November 2019}}{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50419669 |title=MH17 disaster: Phone-taps 'show Russia directed Ukraine rebels' |website=BBC News |date=14 November 2019 |access-date=15 November 2019}}

A number of witness statements, especially from the DPR armed forces, were presented anonymously due to fear of reprisal from Russia. Although the Russian secret service attempted to hack into the Malaysian Attorney-General's office, investigation files of the Australian Federal Police and offices at The Hague, prosecutors say the identities of the witnesses still remained secure.{{Cite news |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/russians-hacked-our-mh17-evidence-dutch-court-hears/news-story/d61101fd4f37f261ba63dedf07627c3d |title=Russians hacked our MH17 evidence, Dutch court hears |last=Magnay |first=Jacquelin |date=10 March 2020 |newspaper=The Australian}} The Dutch court, on considering defendant Oleg Pulatov's appeal against anonymous testimony, allowed twelve anonymous witness statements in the trial but barred the anonymous testimony of one witness.{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/amp/International/wireStory/judges-mh17-trial-allowed-anonymous-testimony-70308879 |title=Judges in MH17 Trial Allowed to Consider Anonymous Testimony |agency=The Associated Press |website=ABC News |date=23 April 2020}}

On 7 June 2021, the trial moved on to the evidence phase, during which lawyers and judges will discuss their findings. Witnesses were called in to supply additional information.{{Cite news|last=Van Den Berg|first=Stephanie|date=2021-06-07|title=Bitter week for families as evidence to be read in MH17 airliner trial|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/mh17-plane-crash-families-prepare-critical-trial-phase-2021-06-04/|access-date=2021-06-10}}{{Cite news|last=Corder|first=Mike|date=2021-06-07|title=MH17 trial moves to crucial merits phase, examining evidence|work=ABC News|agency=Associated Press|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/mh17-trial-moves-crucial-merits-phase-examining-evidence-78125868|access-date=2021-06-10}} On 21 December 2021, the Prosecution recommended life sentences for four suspects accused of downing the plane.{{cite news |title=Prosecution recommends life imprisonment for downing of MH17 |url=https://www.prosecutionservice.nl/topics/mh17-plane-crash/news/2021/12/22/prosecution-recommends-life-imprisonment-for-downing-of-mh17 |publisher=Netherlands Public Prosecution Service |date=22 December 2022}}

The trial reconvened on 7 March 2022, with the defence presenting oral arguments.{{cite news |last1=District Court of the Hague |title=Summary of the Day in Court Monday 7 March 2022 |url=https://www.courtmh17.com/en/news/2022/summary-of-the-day-in-court-monday-7-march-2022.html |publisher=de Rechtspraak |date=7 March 2022}} On 17 November 2022, the court handed down life sentences to three defendants, Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy and Leonid Kharchenko for the murder of 298 passengers and crew. A fourth defendant, Oleg Pulatov, was acquitted on grounds of insufficient involvement in the incident.{{Cite web| title = MH17 verdicts: 2 Russians, 1 Ukrainian convicted of murders |date = 17 November 2022 |publisher = AP News | accessdate = 2022-11-17| url = https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-kuala-lumpur-malaysia-netherlands-099084a82b49b77b116878e24fc63a18}}{{Plain list|{{ECLI|ECLI:NL:RBDHA:2022:14037}} (Girkin) {{ECLI|ECLI:NL:RBDHA:2022:14036}} (Dubinskiy) {{ECLI|ECLI:NL:RBDHA:2022:14039}} (Kharchenko) {{ECLI|ECLI:NL:RBDHA:2022:14040}} (Pulatov)}} The presiding judge, Hendrik Steenhuis, said the court had concluded that MH17 was shot down by a Russian-made Buk missile launched from an agricultural field in eastern Ukraine, citing extensive evidence that did not leave "any possibility for reasonable doubt whatsoever" and that Russia had overall control of the separatist forces in eastern Ukraine when the plane was shot down.

The court concluded that the crew of the Buk Telar system had likely mistaken MH17 for a Ukrainian military aircraft. The court further concluded that although the Russian Federation exercised control over the separatist forces, the defendants in the trial did not have combatant status under international law since they were not part of the Russian Armed Forces.{{Cite web |title=Summary of the day in court: 17 November 2022 – Judgment |url=https://www.courtmh17.com/en/insights/news/2022/summary-of-the-day-in-court-17-november-2022-judgment/www.courtmh17.com/en/insights/news/2022/summary-of-the-day-in-court-17-november-2022-judgment/ |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=www.courtmh17.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Yanev |first=Lachezar |date=2022-12-07 |title=The MH17 Judgment: An Interesting Take on the Nature of the Armed Conflict in Eastern Ukraine |url=https://www.ejiltalk.org/the-mh17-judgment-an-interesting-take-on-the-nature-of-the-armed-conflict-in-eastern-ukraine/ |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=EJIL: Talk! |language=English}}

On 10 July 2020, the Dutch government announced that it intended to take Russia to the European Court of Human Rights for "its role in the downing" of Flight MH17. By doing so, it said, it was "offering maximum support" to the individual cases already brought to the Court by the victims' families.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53367425 |title=MH17 disaster: Dutch take Russia to European rights court |date=10 July 2020 |website=BBC News |access-date=10 July 2020}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.government.nl/ministries/ministry-of-foreign-affairs/news/2020/07/10/the-netherlands-brings-mh17-case-against-russia-before-european-court-of-human-rights |title=The Netherlands brings MH17 case against Russia before European Court of Human Rights |date=10 July 2020 |website=Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands |agency=Ministry of Foreign Affairs |access-date=10 July 2020}}

On 25 January 2023, the ECHR ruled that it could adjudicate the case against Russia because evidence had established that the separatist militias were "under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation" and that Moscow "had a significant influence on the separatists' military strategy".{{Cite web |date=2023-01-25 |title=ECHR says it can hear case against Russia over MH17 downing |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/25/echr-says-it-can-hear-case-against-russia-over-mh17-downing |access-date=2023-01-26 |website=www.aljazeera.com}}

On 14 March 2022, Australia and the Netherlands announced that they had launched a joint legal action against Russia under Article 84 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/14/australia-and-the-netherlands-launch-legal-action-against-russia-over-mh17-disaster|title=Australia and the Netherlands launch legal action against Russia over MH17 disaster|date=14 March 2022|website=the Guardian}} On 12 May 2025, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) council ruled that Russia was in breach of the Chicago convention and responsible for downing MH17. {{cite web | url=https://nltimes.nl/2025/05/12/un-council-russia-responsible-downing-mh17-killing-298-including-196-dutch | title=UN Council: Russia responsible for downing MH17, killing 298, including 196 Dutch | NL Times }}

On 20 December 2017, the Intelligence and Security Committee of the UK Parliament published its annual report. It contains a section titled "Russian objectives and activity against UK and allied interests" which quotes MI6 as stating: "Russia conducts information warfare on a massive scale... An early example of this was a hugely intensive, multichannel propaganda effort to persuade the world that Russia bore no responsibility for the shooting down of [Malaysian Airlines flight] MH-17 (an outright falsehood: we know beyond any reasonable doubt that the Russian military supplied and subsequently recovered the missile launcher)".{{cite web |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2017/12/20/british-intelligence-report-confirms-russian-military-origin-mh17-murder-weapon/ |title=British Intelligence Report Confirms Russian Military Origin of MH17 Murder Weapon |last1=Toler |first1=Aric |date=20 December 2017 |website=Bellingcat |access-date=21 December 2017}}{{Cite web |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/727949/ISC-Annual-Report-2016-17.pdf |title=ISCP Annual Report 2016-2017 |date=20 December 2017 |website=Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017174035/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/727949/ISC-Annual-Report-2016-17.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2018 }} [https://b1cba9b3-a-5e6631fd-s-sites.googlegroups.com/a/independent.gov.uk/isc/files/2016-2017_ISC_AR.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7cqS8WVJqzXucCjkPcD1PkT4M4RJspBV9tHBYEJAZLobTFw2rG67hpLh55zoZsZ9_9Xrmtqiq4CzbwmhAUpzCTh3AW-lBjOdmWFYJds1-EYzBgJGRmPWubVpg_Yl0SrMUrYTcKGn-8HtPvf5AARiu60msxtT2SpjJfdv78EEeqkINZBUythVem1KHFtKbbziZLQNdiiOymaCinv1pUa1FIpSVaHOkjNwmyfFteiMvnTRX00Qz_0%3D&attredirects=0 Alt URL] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601074425/https://www.google.com/a/independent.gov.uk/ServiceLogin?service=jotspot&passive=1209600&continue=https%3A%2F%2Fsites.google.com%2Fa%2Findependent.gov.uk%2Fisc%2Ffiles%2F2016-2017_ISC_AR.pdf%3Fattredirects%3D1&followup=https%3A%2F%2Fsites.google.com%2Fa%2Findependent.gov.uk%2Fisc%2Ffiles%2F2016-2017_ISC_AR.pdf%3Fattredirects%3D1&ul=1 |date=1 June 2021 }}

In December 2017, the Russian investigative portal The Insider, the news agency McClatchyDC, and Bellingcat following a joint investigation, confirmed the identity of a high-ranking military officer using a call-sign "Dolphin" to be Colonel General Nikolai Fedorovich Tkachev. Tkachev is heard supervising the operation of Buk delivery and set-up in wiretaps acquired by JIT.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2017/12/08/russian-colonel-general-delfin/ |title=Russian Colonel General Identified as Key MH17 Figure |date=8 December 2017 |website=Bellingcat |access-date=8 December 2017}}{{cite web |url=https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/world/article188720184.html |title=Russian general ID'd in activity around shootdown of Malaysian passenger jet |first=Kevin G. |last=Hall |date=8 December 2017 |website=McClatchyDC |access-date=30 December 2018}} In April 2020 the same three teams identified another high-ranking figure in the chain of command referred to by many DPR and LPR operatives as "Vladimir Ivanovich" to be FSB Colonel General Andrey Ivanovich Burlaka, first deputy chief of the Russian border service.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2020/04/28/burlaka/ |title=Key MH17 Figure Identified As Senior FSB Official: Colonel General Andrey Burlaka |date=28 April 2020 |website=Bellingcat |access-date=28 April 2020}}{{Cite web |url=https://meduza.io/en/feature/2020/04/28/investigative-journalists-link-senior-fsb-official-to-mh17-case |title=Investigative journalists link senior FSB official to MH17 case |date=28 April 2020 |website=Meduza |access-date=2020-12-04}}

In July 2015, a writ was filed in an American court by families of 18 victims accusing the separatist leader Igor Girkin of "orchestrating the shootdown" and the Russian government of being complicit in the act. The writ was brought under the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/11742865/MH-17-Russian-separatist-leader-sued-for-900-million-by-crash-victims.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/11742865/MH-17-Russian-separatist-leader-sued-for-900-million-by-crash-victims.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=MH-17 Russian separatist leader sued for 900 million by crash victims |first=David |last=Millward |date=16 July 2015 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph}}{{cbignore}} In May 2016 families of 33 victims of the crash filed a claim against Russia and president Vladimir Putin in the European Court of Human Rights, arguing Russian actions violated the passengers' right to life.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36350520 |title=MH17 crash: Victims' families sue Putin and Russia |date=21 May 2016 |website=BBC News |access-date=22 May 2016}}{{cite web |url=http://in.reuters.com/article/australia-mh-idINL3N18J00O |title=Australian firm names Russia, Putin in MH17 compensation claim -report |first=Jarni |last=Blakkarly |date=22 May 2016 |website=Reuters |access-date=22 May 2016 |archive-date=28 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160628043935/http://in.reuters.com/article/australia-mh-idINKCN0YC0B0 |url-status=dead }} A group of 270 relatives of Dutch victims joined the claim in May 2018 after the JIT concluded that Russia was involved.{{Cite web |url=https://nos.nl/artikel/2233480-nabestaanden-mh17-naar-europees-hof-voor-schadeclaim-tegen-rusland.html |title=Nabestaanden MH17 naar Europees Hof voor schadeclaim tegen Rusland |website=NOS |date=25 May 2018 |language=nl |access-date=30 May 2018}} The Dutch government supported this claim by taking Russia to the European Court of Human Rights in July 2020, assuming that Moscow had "effective control" of the area of Ukraine where the missile was launched.[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64395406 Anna Holligan and Laura Gozzi, MH17: Court ruling due on Dutch case against Russia, BBC news, 25 January 2023]. In January 2023, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights found that the "areas in eastern Ukraine in separatist hands were, from 11 May 2014 and up to at least 26 January 2022, under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation", pointing to the presence in eastern Ukraine of Russian military personnel and regular Russian troops.{{Cite web |date=25 January 2023 |title=ECHR 026 (2023), Grand Chamber Decision in Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia (applications nos. 8019/16, 43800/14 and 28525/20), 25 January 2023 |url=https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/app/conversion/pdf/?library=ECHR&id=003-7550165-10372782&filename=Grand%20Chamber%20decision%20Ukraine%20and%20the%20Netherlands%20v.%20Russia%20-%20Flight%20MH17%20and%20eastern-Ukraine-conflict%20case%20partially%20admissible%2C%20will%20proceed%20to%20judgment.pdf}}

In July 2016, Malaysia Airlines was sued in Malaysia by 15 passengers' families in two separate writs, each brought under the Montreal Convention, arguing that the airline should not have chosen that route.{{cite news |url=http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/mh17-kin-sue-malaysia-airlines-seek-damages-ahead-of-lawsuit-deadline |title=MH17 kin sue Malaysia Airlines, seek damages ahead of lawsuit deadline |author=Yap Tzu Ging |date=15 July 2016 |newspaper=Malay Mail Online}} A month earlier, a separate lawsuit was brought by the families of six crew members who alleged negligence and breach of contract by the airline.{{cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/missing-malaysia-plane-crew-lawsuit-1.3612177 |title=Malaysia Airlines sued by relatives of MH17 crew shot down over Ukraine |date=2 June 2016 |website=CBC.ca |agency=Associated Press}}

{{main|International reactions to the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 shootdown}}

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called the crash the result of an act of terrorism, and also called for an international investigation into the crash.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-28353791 |title=Ukrainian president says was terrorist act not accident |date=17 July 2014 |website=BBC News |access-date=6 December 2020}}

Malaysian Deputy Foreign Minister Hamzah Zainuddin said that the foreign ministry would be working with the Russian and Ukrainian governments with regard to the incident.{{cite web |url=http://english.cri.cn/12394/2014/07/18/2941s836537.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140719200617/http://english.cri.cn/12394/2014/07/18/2941s836537.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 July 2014 |title=Malaysia to Work with Russia, Ukrainian Governments on MH17 |website=China Radio International |access-date=17 July 2014}} Prime Minister Najib Razak said that Malaysia was unable yet to verify the cause of the crash but that, if the airliner was shot down, the perpetrators should be swiftly punished.{{cite web |url=https://www.voanews.com/east-asia/malaysian-pm-demands-swift-justice-if-plane-was-shot-down |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829150638/https://www.voanews.com/east-asia/malaysian-pm-demands-swift-justice-if-plane-was-shot-down |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 August 2019 |title=Malaysian PM Demands Swift Justice if Plane Was Shot Down |website=Voice of America |date=17 July 2014 |access-date=30 August 2019}} The Malaysian government flew the national flag at half-mast from 18 July until 21 July.{{cite web |url=http://www.stasiareport.com/news/asia/south-east-asia/story/malaysia-airlines-mh17-crash-flags-fly-half-mast-over-next-three-day |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029191502/http://www.stasiareport.com/news/asia/south-east-asia/story/malaysia-airlines-mh17-crash-flags-fly-half-mast-over-next-three-day |url-status=usurped |archive-date=29 October 2014 |title=Asia Report – Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash: Flags to fly at half-mast over next three days, says Najib |author=Yong Yen Nie |newspaper=The Straits Times |date=18 July 2014 |access-date=19 July 2014}}

File:Nederlandse vlag halfstok voor stadhuis Hoorn.jpg city hall during the national day of mourning on 23 July 2014]]

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and King Willem-Alexander voiced their shock at the crash,{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/937463/verklaring-premier-rutte-over-crash-mh17 |title=Verklaring premier Rutte over crash MH17 |date=17 July 2014 |newspaper=De Telegraaf |language=nl |access-date=17 July 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://dc.the-netherlands.org/news/2014/07/statement-king-willem-alexander.html |title=Statement of His Majesty King Willem-Alexander on Malaysian Flight MH17 |website=The Netherlands Embassy in Washington, D.C., United States |date=17 July 2014 |access-date=17 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718002846/http://dc.the-netherlands.org/news/2014/07/statement-king-willem-alexander.html |archive-date=18 July 2014 |url-status=dead}} and Minister of Foreign Affairs Frans Timmermans joined the Dutch investigation team sent to Ukraine.{{cite news |date=18 July 2014 |title=Timmermans mee met onderzoekers naar Oekraïne |trans-title=Timmermans accompanies researchers to Ukraine |url=http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2668/Buitenland/article/detail/3691806/2014/07/18/Timmermans-mee-met-onderzoekers-naar-Oekraine.dhtml |access-date=18 July 2014 |newspaper=de Volkskrant |language=nl |agency=ANP}} Dutch government buildings flew the flag at half-mast on 18 July.{{cite web |author=Novum |date=17 July 2014 |title=Vlaggen overheidsgebouwen halfstok na vliegramp |trans-title=Flags at government buildings at half-mast after plane crash |url=http://nieuws.nl/algemeen/20140717/vlaggen-overheidsgebouwen-halfstok-na-vliegramp/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726214011/http://www.nieuws.nl/algemeen/20140717/Vlaggen-overheidsgebouwen-halfstok-na-vliegramp |archive-date=26 July 2014 |access-date=17 July 2014 |website=Nieuws.nl |language=nl}} Music was cancelled and festivities were toned down on the last day of the Nijmegen Marches.{{cite web |author=Novum |date=18 July 2014 |title=Vierdaagse Nijmegen: muziek geschrapt wegens vliegramp |trans-title=Nijmegen Four Days Marches: music cancelled due to plane crash |url=http://nieuws.nl/algemeen/20140718/vierdaagse-nijmegen-muziek-geschrapt-wegens-vliegramp/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402114956/http://nieuws.nl/algemeen/20140718/vierdaagse-nijmegen-muziek-geschrapt-wegens-vliegramp/ |archive-date=2 April 2015 |access-date=18 July 2014 |website=nieuws.nl |language=nl}} On 21 July the Netherlands opened a war crimes investigation on the downing of the aircraft and a Netherlands public prosecutor went to Ukraine as part of this investigation. Rutte threatened tough action against Russia if it did not help in the investigation.{{cite web |url=https://news.yahoo.com/netherlands-opens-investigation-airliner-shoot-down-131650202.html |title=Netherlands opens war crimes investigation into airliner downing |first1=Thomas |last1=Escritt |first2=Angus |last2=MacSwan |date=21 July 2014 |website=Yahoo! News}} On the same day, Timmermans spoke at the UN Security Council Meeting, after the council had unanimously condemned the shooting down of MH17.{{cite news |last=Willems |first=Marije |date=22 July 2014 |title=Terugluisteren en -lezen: de indrukwekkende speech van Timmermans |trans-title=Listen and read again: Timmermans' impressive speech |url=https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2014/07/22/terugluisteren-en-lezen-de-bewogen-speech-van-timmermans-a1423587 |website=NRC |language=nl}} An increase in negative emotions and somatic complaints was observed in the Dutch population during the first four days after the MH17 crash.{{Cite journal |first=Bertus F. |last=Jeronimus |display-authors=etal |year=2018 |title=Acute stress responses after indirect exposure to the MH17 airplane crash |journal=British Journal of Psychology |volume=110 |issue=4 |pages=790–813 |doi=10.1111/bjop.12358 |pmid=30450537 |pmc=6900050 |doi-access=free | issn=0007-1269}}

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in an address to parliament that the aircraft was downed by a missile which seemed to have been launched by Russian-backed rebels.{{cite news |url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/mh17-russia-says-tony-abbott-operating-only-on-speculation-in-his-tough-stance-over-separatist-involvement-in-plane-tragedy/story-fni0cx12-1226994356506 |title=MH17: Russia says Tony Abbott 'operating only on speculation' in his tough stance over separatist involvement in plane tragedy |last1=Maiden |first1=Samantha |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=Australia |date=19 July 2014 |access-date=19 July 2014}} Julie Bishop, the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, said in an interview on Australian television that it was "extraordinary" that her Russian counterparts had refused to discuss the downing of MH17 when the Russian ambassador was summoned to meet her. The Russian government was critical of Abbott's response; Abbott was one of the first world leaders to publicly connect the shoot-down to Russia.{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-19/russia-says-abbott-comments-mh17-downing-unacceptable/5608852?pfm=ms |title=Malaysia Airlines MH17: Russia says Tony Abbott's comments blaming separatists are 'unacceptable', Julie Bishop criticises Moscow for lack of talks |date=19 July 2014 |website=ABC News (Australia) |access-date=19 July 2014}} Abbott later criticised the recovery efforts as "shambolic", and "more like a garden clean-up than a forensic investigation"; Bishop publicly warned separatist forces against treating the victims' bodies as hostages.{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-21/government-considers-declaring-mh17-disaster-a-terrorist-act/5610908?pfm=ms |title=MH17: Prime Minister Tony Abbott hits out at 'shambolic' recovery effort; Government considers listing outrage as terrorist act; rebels move bodies to refrigerated train |date=21 July 2014 |website=ABC News (Australia) |access-date=21 July 2014}} Abbott also said in an interview on 13 October 2014, in anticipation of Russia's President Vladimir Putin's attendance at the 2014 G20 summit, scheduled for mid-November 2014 in Brisbane, Australia: "Australians were murdered. They were murdered by Russian-backed rebels using Russian-supplied equipment. We are very unhappy about this."{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2014/s4106143.htm |title=Tony Abbott promises to 'shirtfront' Putin at G20 Summit |first=Sabra |last=Lane |date=13 October 2014 |website=The 7.30 Report |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=14 October 2014}}

Russian President Putin said that Ukraine bore responsibility for the incident which happened in its territory, which he said would not have happened if hostilities had not resumed in the south-east of Ukraine.{{Cite web|last=Heritage|first=Timothy|date=2014-07-17|title=Vladimir Putin blames Ukraine for MH17 tragedy|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/vladimir-putin-blames-ukraine-for-mh17-tragedy-20140718-zua9b.html|access-date=2021-10-17|website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}{{cite web |url=https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/biden-malaysia-airlines-crash |title=Joe Biden: Malaysia Airlines flight 'apparently' shot down |date=17 July 2014 |website=MSNBC |access-date=17 July 2014}} At the end of July, State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev said in an interview for Die Welt that the separatists had shot down the airliner by mistake and that Putin now realised he had supplied the weapon to the "wrong people".{{cite news |url=https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article130579514/Putin-realisiert-dass-er-die-Falschen-bewaffnete.html |title=Putin realisiert, dass er die Falschen bewaffnete |trans-title=Putin realized that he armed the wrong people |last1=Mülherr |first1=Silke |last2=Pylypchuk |first2=Inga |date=26 July 2014 |newspaper=Die Welt |language=de |access-date=1 August 2014}} The Danish Institute for International Studies has pointed out to the similarities of Russian reaction to the downing of Korean Airlines flight KAL-007 in 1983 where the USSR initially denied any involvement.{{Cite web |url=http://pure.diis.dk/ws/files/950041/DIIS_RP_2017_6_web.pdf |title=Russian Hybrid Warfare |website=Danish Institute for International Studies |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824221700/http://pure.diis.dk/ws/files/950041/DIIS_RP_2017_6_web.pdf |archive-date=24 August 2017 |url-status=dead}}

United States President Barack Obama said the United States would help determine the cause. In a press statement, White House spokesman Josh Earnest called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine to allow for a full investigation.{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-obama/white-house-urges-ukraine-ceasefire-for-plane-probe-obama-talks-to-putin-idUSKBN0FN0D420140718 |title=White House urges Ukraine ceasefire for plane probe, Obama talks to Putin |last1=Mason |first1=Jeff |last2=Holland |first2=Steve |first3=Patricia |last3=Zengerle |date=18 July 2014 |website=Reuters |editor-last=Tait |editor-first=Paul |access-date=18 July 2014}} Vice-president Joe Biden said the aircraft appeared to have been deliberately shot down, and offered American assistance for the investigation into the crash. American Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power called on Russia to end the war.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/19/world/europe/malaysia-airlines-plane-ukraine.html |title=Obama Points to Pro-Russia Separatists in Downing of Malaysia Airlines Plane |first1=Michael D. |last1=Shear |first2=Somini |last2=Sengupta |first3=Sabrina |last3=Tavernise |newspaper=The New York Times |date=18 July 2014 |access-date=18 July 2014}} The British government requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council and called an emergency Cobra meeting after the incident.{{cite web |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/official-malaysian-plane-shot-down-over-ukraine |title=Ukraine: 295 on Malaysia plane shot down over east |last1=Leonard |first1=Peter |website=Associated Press |access-date=17 July 2014 |ref=APBigStory |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717190514/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/official-malaysian-plane-shot-down-over-ukraine |archive-date=17 July 2014}}{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10975874/MH17-plane-crash-David-Cameron-urges-those-responsible-for-downing-jet-to-be-held-to-account.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718211522/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10975874/MH17-plane-crash-David-Cameron-urges-those-responsible-for-downing-jet-to-be-held-to-account.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 July 2014 |title=MH17 plane crash: David Cameron urges those responsible for downing jet to be 'held to account' |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=18 July 2014 |access-date=18 July 2014}} Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin E. Dempsey said that instead of backing away from supporting the rebels following the shooting down, Putin had "taken a decision to escalate."{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/26/world/europe/russian-artillery-fires-into-ukraine-kiev-says.html |title=Russia Steps Up Help for Rebels in Ukraine War |first=David M. |last=Herszenhorn |date=25 July 2014 |newspaper=The New York Times}}

On 17 July, the European Union's representatives José Manuel Barroso and Herman Van Rompuy released a joint statement calling for an immediate and thorough investigation.{{cite web |url=http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-14-231_en.htm?locale=en |title=Joint statement by the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, on the crash of the Malaysian airliner in Ukraine |website=Europa |date=17 July 2014 |access-date=19 July 2014}} The EU officials also said that Ukraine has first claim on the aircraft's black boxes.{{cite web |url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/malaysian-plane-mh17-crash-investigators-face-struggle/1/373127.html |title=Malaysian plane MH17 crash investigators face struggle |date=18 July 2014 |newspaper=India Today |access-date=19 July 2014}}

The International Civil Aviation Organization announced, on 18 July, that it was sending its team of experts to assist the National Bureau of Air Accidents Investigation of Ukraine (NBAAI), under Article 26 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation.{{cite web |url=http://www.icao.int/Newsroom/Pages/Ukraine-requests-ICAO-assistance-in-MH17-accident-investigation.aspx |title=Ukraine Requests ICAO Assistance in MH17 Accident Investigation |website=ICAO |date=18 July 2014 |access-date=20 July 2014}} The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2166 on 21 July, regarding an official crime investigation into the incident. On 24 July 2014 the ICAO issued a State Letter reminding signatory states of their responsibilities with respect to the safety and security of civil aircraft operating in airspace affected by conflict.{{cite web |url=http://www.icao.int/Newsroom/Pages/ICAO-clarifies-State-responsibilities-arising-from-conflict-zones.aspx |title=ICAO Clarifies State Responsibilities Arising from Conflict Zones |website=ICAO |date=24 July 2014 |access-date=10 October 2014}}

File:Amsterdam Airport- Flight MH17 Memorial (14675744526).jpg for the victims of Flight MH17]]

After the crash, memorial services were held in Australia{{cite web |url=http://www.itv.com/news/update/2014-07-20/memorial-service-held-for-mh17-victims-in-australia/ |title=Australia mourns MH17 victims at memorial service |website=ITV News |date=20 July 2014 |access-date=21 July 2014}} and in the Netherlands, which declared 23 July, the day when the first victims arrived in the country, a national day of mourning, the first since 1962.{{cite web |date=22 July 2014 |title=Woensdag 23 juli dag van nationale rouw |trans-title=Wednesday July 23rd is a day of national mourning |url=http://www.nu.nl/binnenland/3834822/woensdag-23-juli-dag-van-nationale-rouw.html |access-date=22 July 2014 |website=Nu.nl |language=nl}}{{cite news |url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/netherlands-declares-national-day-mourning-mh17-victims-1457454 |title=Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17: Netherlands Declares National Day of Mourning For MH17 Victims |newspaper=International Business Times |date=20 July 2014 |access-date=21 July 2014}} The opening ceremony of the AIDS 2014 conference, on 20 July, of which several delegates had been on board Flight MH17, began with a tribute to the victims of the crash.{{cite news |url=http://www.starobserver.com.au/news/local-news/aids-2014-opening-ceremony-tinged-with-sombre-mood/125442 |title=AIDS 2014 opening ceremony tinged with sombre mood |first=Elias |last=Jahshan |newspaper=Star Observer |date=20 July 2014 |access-date=21 July 2014}} In Malaysia, makeshift memorials were created in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-28397889 |title=MH17 crash: Malaysians mourn at makeshift memorials |website=BBC News |first=Sharanjit |last=Leyl |date=21 July 2014 |access-date=21 July 2014}}

Amongst the victims of flight MH17 were supporters of Newcastle United Football Club John Alder (63) and Liam Sweeney (28) who were travelling to watch the club play a match in New Zealand.{{Cite web |title=Fans Remember Newcastle MH17 Victims |url=https://news.sky.com/story/fans-remember-newcastle-mh17-victims-10392829 |access-date=2022-07-17 |website=Sky News |language=en}} Newcastle United FC paid tribute to them with the clubs manager, Alan Pardew saying; "Sometimes when you lose lives in that manner, it puts into context what we do. This season we want to give their families something to remember them by, by having a successful season."{{Cite web |date=2014-07-22 |title=Newcastle Utd Fans Killed In Flight MH17 Remembered |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/07/22/mh17-newcastle-fans_n_5608583.html |access-date=2022-07-17 |website=HuffPost UK |language=en}} In 2014 Newcastle United installed the Alder Sweeney Memorial Garden outside their St James' Park stadium in memory of Alder, Sweeney and all those killed on Flight MH17.{{Cite web |title=United Unveil Alder Sweeney Memorial Garden |url=https://www.nufc.co.uk/news/archive/united-unveil-alder-sweeney-memorial-garden/ |access-date=2022-07-17 |website=Newcastle United Football Club |date=29 August 2014 |language=en}}

File:Nationaal Monument MH17.jpg, the Netherlands, near Schiphol Airport]]

On 17 July 2017, exactly three years after the crash, a memorial in memory of the victims was unveiled in Vijfhuizen, the Netherlands. The opening of the memorial, which is just outside Schiphol Airport, was attended by more than 2000 relatives of victims, King Willem-Alexander and his wife Queen Máxima, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Minister of Security and Justice Stef Blok and the speakers of the Dutch Senate and House of Representatives. The memorial includes 298 trees, one tree for each victim.{{cite web |date=17 July 2017 |title=Onthulling Nationaal Monument MH17: 'Deze dag sloeg een gat in ons leven' |trans-title=Unveiling of National Monument MH17: 'This day left a hole in our lives' |url=https://nos.nl/artikel/2183659-onthulling-nationaal-monument-mh17-deze-dag-sloeg-een-gat-in-ons-leven.html |access-date=17 July 2019 |website=NOS |language=nl}}

On 17 July 2015, a year after the crash, sunflower seeds taken from a field near the crash site were grown in tribute to the 15 residents of Hilversum, including three families, who were killed.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/17/mh17-dutch-victims-hilversum-sunflowers |title=Dutch town hard hit by MH17 disaster remembers victims with sunflowers |website=The Guardian |date=17 July 2015 |access-date=30 May 2021}} Amid the ongoing war, Fairfax chief correspondent Paul McGeough and photographer Kate Geraghty collected a keepsake of sunflower seeds from the wreck site for family and friends of the 38 Australian victims, which happened to be viable and had therefore germinated.{{cite web |url=https://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2015/planting-hope/ |title=Planting hope |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=2015 |access-date=30 May 2021}}

File:MH17 commemorate - flag at half mast at Delft municipal offices (2024).jpg municipal offices in 2024 to mark 10 years since the downing of MH17]]

The tenth anniversary of the crash was commemorated at the National Monument MH17. Prime Minister Dick Schoof delivered a speech. Both he and King Willem-Alexander spoke with the victims' relatives. About 1,300 relatives attended, along with officials from various countries. The ceremony included reading the names of all 298 victims and observing two minutes of silence.{{Cite web |date=2024-07-08 |title=Koning en minister-president bij herdenking 10 jaar vliegramp MH17 |trans-title=King and Prime Minister at commemoration of 10 years of MH17 air disaster |url=https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/actueel/nieuws/2024/07/08/koning-en-minister-president-bij-herdenking-tien-jaar-vliegramp-mh17 |access-date=2024-07-17 |website=Ministerie van Algemene Zaken |language=nl-NL}}

Coverage by the Russian media has differed from coverage in most other countries{{cite web |url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2014/07/22/Russia-offers-alternate-scenarios-for-Malaysia-Airlines-crash/2701406045751/ |title=Russia offers alternate scenarios for Malaysia Airlines crash |date=22 July 2014 |first=Ed |last=Adamczyk |website=United Press International |access-date=2 November 2014 |quote=Russian media offers explanations conflicting with the information provided by the rest of the world.}} and has changed significantly over time.{{cite magazine |url=https://newrepublic.com/node/118782 |title=The Russian Public Has a Totally Different Understanding of What Happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 17: And it's more of a problem than you think |last1=Ioffe |first1=Julia |magazine=New Republic |date=20 July 2014 |access-date=21 July 2014 |quote=The picture of the catastrophe that the Russian people are seeing on their television screens is very different from that on screens in much of the rest of the world, and the discrepancy does not bode well for a sane resolution to this stand-off. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140721015346/http://www.newrepublic.com/node/118782 |archive-date=21 July 2014 |url-status=dead}} According to Bellingcat, these changes have usually been in response to new evidence published by DSB and the investigation team.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2018/01/05/kremlins-shifting-self-contradicting-narratives-mh17/ |title=The Kremlin's Shifting, Self-Contradicting Narratives on MH17 |last=Toler |first=Aric |date=5 January 2018 |website=Bellingcat |access-date=5 January 2018}} According to a poll conducted by the Levada Center between 18 and 24 July 2014, 80% of Russians surveyed believed that the crash of MH17 was caused by the Ukrainian military. Only 3% of respondents blamed the disaster on the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.{{cite web |url=http://www.levada.ru/30-07-2014/katastrofa-boinga-pod-donetskom |title=Катастрофа "Боинга" под Донецком |trans-title=Boeing crash near Donetsk |date=30 July 2014 |website=Levada.ru |language=ru |access-date=10 August 2014}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/30/mh17-vast-majority-russians-believe-ukraine-downed-plane-poll |title=MH17: vast majority of Russians believe Ukraine downed plane, poll finds |last1=Luhn |first1=Alec |date=30 July 2014 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=2 August 2014}}{{cite news |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2014/07/30/more-than-80-of-russians-blame-ukrainian-army-for-mh17-crash-a37844 |title=More Than 80% of Russians Blame Ukrainian Army for MH17 Crash |date=30 July 2014 |newspaper=The Moscow Times |access-date=8 September 2014}} Researchers said views were influenced by the televisual infosphere.{{cite journal |title='Why Did MH17 Crash?': Blame Attribution, Television News and Public Opinion in Southeastern Ukraine, Crimea and the De Facto States of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria |last1=Toal |first1=Gerard |last2=O'Loughlin |first2=John |date=September 2017 |journal=Geopolitics |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=882–916 |doi=10.1080/14650045.2017.1364238|s2cid=149126936 }} In the three days following the incident, the Russian Internet Research Agency "troll farm" posted 111,486 tweets from fake accounts.{{cite web |url=https://research.unsw.edu.au/people/mr-tom-sear/publications?type=reports |title=#MH17: Initial observations of Russian influence operations relating to Australia |last1=Sear |first1=Tom |date=2018 |website=Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, Australian Parliament |access-date=27 December 2020}} Mostly posted in Russian, the tweets initially said the rebels had shot down a Ukrainian airplane, but quickly switched to accusing Ukraine of carrying out the attack.{{cite web |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/mh17-russia-deployed-its-trolls-to-cover-up-the-murder-of-298-people |title=Russia Deployed Its Trolls to Cover Up the Murder of 298 People on MH17 |first=Amy |last=Knight |date=31 May 2019 |website=The Daily Beast}} This is both the largest number of tweets in any 24 hour period, and for any topic in the history of the Internet Research Agency (IRA).{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333917200 |last1=Sear |first1=Tom |title=#MH17: Initial observations of Russian influence operations relating to Australia |date=2018 |journal=ResearchGate |access-date=27 December 2020 |doi=10.13140/RG.2.2.36564.86404}}

Conversely, the liberal Russian opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta shortly after the crash published a headline in Dutch that read "Vergeef ons, Nederland" ("Forgive Us, Netherlands").{{cite web |url=http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/07/25/russian_paper_issues_front_page_apology_to_netherlands_for_mh17 |title=Russian Paper Issues Front Page Apology to Netherlands for MH17 |last=Groll |first=Elias |date=25 July 2014 |website=Foreign Policy |access-date=25 July 2014 |url-access=subscription |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726135949/http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/07/25/russian_paper_issues_front_page_apology_to_netherlands_for_mh17 |archive-date=26 July 2014 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.news.com.au/world/russian-newspaper-novaya-gazeta-prints-frontpage-apology-for-mh17-disaster-in-dutch/story-fndir2ev-1227001958997 |title=Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta prints front-page apology for MH17 disaster in Dutch |date=25 July 2014 |website=News.com.au |access-date=25 July 2014 |archive-date=28 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150428233100/http://www.news.com.au/world/russian-newspaper-novaya-gazeta-prints-frontpage-apology-for-mh17-disaster-in-dutch/story-fndir2ev-1227001958997 |url-status=dead }}

In July 2014, Sara Firth, who had worked as a correspondent with RT for the previous five years, resigned in protest at the channel's coverage of the crash, which she described as "lies".{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/jul/18/mh17-russia-today-reporter-resigns-sara-firth-kremlin-malaysia |title=Russia Today reporter resigns in protest at MH17 coverage |last=Plunkett |first=John |date=18 July 2014 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=18 July 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/mh17-fallout-russian-reporter-sara-firth-quits-over-ukraine-lies/story-fnizu68q-1226994372531 |title=MH17 fallout: Russian reporter Sara Firth quits over Ukraine 'lies' |date=19 July 2014 |website=News.com.au |access-date=21 July 2014 |archive-date=29 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200129200056/https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/mh17-fallout-russian-reporter-sara-firth-quits-over-ukraine-lies/story-fnizu68q-1226994372531 |url-status=dead }}

On the evening of the crash, the LifeNews portal reported that at around 16:00 local time the separatists shot down "Ukrainian Air Force An-26 transport plane" with a missile, calling it "a new victory for the Donetsk militia".{{Cite web |url=http://www.bbc.com/russian/features-37496581 |title=Катастрофа MH17: как менялись версии российских СМИ |trans-title=Disaster of MH17: how the versions of the Russian media changed |last=Bugorkova |first=Olga |date=28 September 2016 |newspaper=BBC Russian Service |language=ru |access-date=29 September 2016}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/when-russia-backed-forces-boasted-they-shot-down-a-ukrainian-military-plane-that-was-actually-mh17/30056279.html |title='Birdie' Down: The First, Damning Hours After MH17 Was Shot Out Of The Sky |last=Schreck |first=Carl |date=15 July 2019 |website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |access-date=6 December 2020}}{{cite web |date=17 July 2014 |title= |script-title=ru:Ополченцы сообщили о сбитом Ан-26 на востоке Украины |trans-title=Militia reported a downed An-26 in eastern Ukraine |url=http://lifenews.ru/news/136801 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717160825/http://lifenews.ru/news/136801 |archive-date=17 July 2014 |access-date=17 July 2014 |website=LifeNews |language=ru |quote=17 июля близ поселка Рассыпное над городом Торез Донецкой области был сбит транспортный самолёт Ан-26 украинских ВВС, сообщили ополченцы. По их словам, самолёт упал где-то в районе шахты "Прогресс", в стороне от жилых кварталов. По словам одного из ополченцев, около 17:30 по местному времени над городом пролетал Ан-26. В него попала ракета, раздался взрыв и самолёт пошёл к земле, оставляя за собой чёрный дым. С неба посыпались обломки. |trans-quote=On July 17 near the village of Rassypnoye over the Torez city in Donetsk region an An-26 transport plane of Ukrainian Air Force was taken down, said the militia. According to them, the plane crashed somewhere near the "Progress" mine, away from residential areas. According to one of the militias, at about 17:30 local time an An-26 flew over the city. It was hit by a rocket, there was an explosion and the plane went to the ground, leaving a black smoke. Debris fell from the sky.}} The news was immediately picked up and disseminated by many other news websites and the Russia-24 TV channel. Around the same time Leonid Kharchenko, who was responsible for the Buk launcher convoy through DPR, reported to his commander Sergei Dubinsky that the launcher is "on the spot and has already downed one" Ukrainian ground-attack airplane.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2020/04/20/the-mh17-trial-part-1-new-materials-from-the-four-defendants/ |title=The MH17 Trial Part 1: New Material From The Four Defendants |date=20 April 2020 |website=Bellingcat |access-date=21 April 2020}}

Shortly after it became evident that it was a civilian aircraft which had been shot down, the separatist media denied any responsibility and denied having anti-aircraft missiles capable of reaching the cruising altitude of commercial traffic.{{cite web |url=http://vk.com/strelkov_info |title=Сводки от Стрелкова Игоря Ивановича |trans-title=Reports from Igor Ivanovich Strelkov |date=17 July 2014 |website=VK (service) |access-date=17 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717152222/http://vk.com/strelkov_info |archive-date=17 July 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2014/0717/Web-evidence-points-to-pro-Russia-rebels-in-downing-of-MH17-video |title=Web evidence points to pro-Russia rebels in downing of MH17 (+video) |first=Arthur |last=Bright |date=17 July 2014 |website=The Christian Science Monitor}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/20/three-pro-russia-rebel-leaders-suspects-over-downed-mh17 |title=Three pro-Russia rebel leaders at the centre of suspicions over downed MH17 |last=Luhn |first=Alec |date=20 July 2014 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=8 September 2014}}

For the first year following the crash, Russian state media claimed that a Ukrainian Air Force Su-25 jet had shot down Flight 17. Radar data, allegedly from Russian air traffic controllers, which was leaked to a Moscow newspaper, was claimed to be proof that there were Ukrainian military jets near MH17.{{Cite web |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/malaysia-airlines-mh17-crash-ukrainian-military-jet-was-flying-close-to-passenger-plane-before-it-9619143.html |title=Ukrainian jet was flying close to MH17, says Russian officer |date=21 July 2014 |newspaper=The Independent |access-date=29 April 2020}} Russia claimed that a Ukrainian Air Force deserter had told them that he had overheard Ukrainian pilots discussing having shot down the wrong plane on the day MH17 crashed.{{Cite web |url=https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/russia-reveals-key-witness-in-mh17-crash/news-story/8a0b018518d9ea9e014e2f467e098c50 |title=Russia reveals 'key witness' in MH17 crash |last=Young |first=Matt |date=5 June 2015 |website=News.com.au |access-date=28 April 2020}}

On 15 November 2014, Russia's Channel One reported a supposedly leaked spy satellite photo which showed the airliner being shot from behind by a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jet.{{Cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/mh17-photo-of-fighter-jet-released-in-russia-slammed-20141116-11nl7w.html |title=MH17 photo of fighter jet released in Russia slammed |first1=Nick |last1=Miller |first2=Rose |last2=Powell |first3=Latika |last3=Bourke |date=15 November 2014 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.1tv.ru/news/2014-11-14/29049-za_mgnoveniya_do_krusheniya_boinga_pod_donetskom_unikalnyy_kadr_v_analiticheskoy_programme_odnako |title=За мгновения до крушения «Боинга» под Донецком — уникальный кадр в аналитической программе «Однако». Новости. Первый канал |language=ru |trans-title=Moments before the crash of the Boeing near Donetsk - a unique shot in the analytical program "Odnako". News. Channel One |access-date=2023-04-08 |via=www.1tv.ru}} Many other Russian media reprinted the photo which was immediately dismissed as crudely inauthentic. Among other inconsistencies, both aircraft were massive relative to the terrain below, indicating that it was a crude copy-and-paste job.{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/world/sensational-russian-photo-of-mh17-being-shot-debunked-by-citizen-journalist-group-20141115-11nbqs.html |title='Sensational' Russian photo of MH17 being shot debunked by citizen journalist group |last=Miller |first=Nick |date=15 November 2014 |newspaper=The Age |access-date=15 November 2014}}{{Cite web |title=Фото атаки Боинга истребителем - подделка |trans-title=Photo of Boeing Attack by Fighter Jet Is Fake |url=http://illari.ru/article/mh17/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207114604/http://illari.ru/article/mh17/ |archive-date=2014-12-07 |access-date=2023-04-08 |website=illari.ru |language=ru}} Later it was disclosed that the photo had been initially emailed to the vice-president of the Russian Union of Engineers by a self-described aviation expert who had found it on a Russian online forum.{{cite web |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/maxseddon/russian-tv-airs-clearly-fake-image-to-claim-ukraine-shot-dow |title=Russian TV Airs Clearly Fake Image To Claim Ukraine Shot Down MH17 |first=Max |last=Seddon |date=15 November 2014 |website=BuzzFeed |access-date=15 October 2014}} The aviation expert later apologised, saying that he was unhappy with how the information had been used. In a 2019 interview in The New Yorker magazine, Channel One CEO Konstantin Ernst said that reporting on the satellite photo had been a human mistake, not done on purpose.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/16/the-kremlins-creative-director |title=The Kremlin's Creative Director |first=Joshua |last=Yaffa |date=9 December 2019 |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=11 December 2019}}

On 25 December 2014, Russia's state-operated domestic news agency RIA Novosti quoted the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, saying he saw MH17 shot out of the sky by two Ukrainian jets.{{cite web|date=25 December 2014|title=Глава ДНР о крушении MH17: "Я видел, как это происходило"|trans-title=Head of the DPR about the crash of MH17: "I saw how it happened"|url=http://ria.ru/mh17/20141225/1040130183.html|access-date=26 December 2014|language=ru|newspaper=RIA News}}{{cite news|date=25 December 2014|title=Kremlin-backed insurgent leader claims personally witnessing Ukrainian aircraft shooting down MH17|newspaper=Ukraine Today|url=http://uatoday.tv/news/kremlin-backed-insurgent-leader-claims-personally-witnessing-ukrainian-aircraft-shooting-down-mh17-399664.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226215051/http://uatoday.tv/news/kremlin-backed-insurgent-leader-claims-personally-witnessing-ukrainian-aircraft-shooting-down-mh17-399664.html|archive-date=26 December 2014}}

The claim that the Su-25 downed the Boeing was part of a strategic narrative that "Ukraine is responsible" and it used altered data as its key deception mechanism.{{Cite journal|last=Rietjens|first=Sebastiaan|date=2019-09-02|title=Unraveling Disinformation: The Case of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23800992.2019.1695666|journal=The International Journal of Intelligence, Security, and Public Affairs|volume=21|issue=3|pages=203|doi=10.1080/23800992.2019.1695666|s2cid=214368984|issn=2380-0992|via=Taylor & Francis|url-access=subscription}} As soon as evidence that a surface-to-air missile and not an air-to-air missile was used to down the Boeing, the Su-25 narrative was changed to one in which MH17 was shot down by a Buk launcher operated by the Ukrainian military.{{Cite book |last1=van Doorn |first1=Cees |last2=Brinkel |first2=Theo |chapter=Deterrence, Resilience, and the Shooting Down of Flight MH17 |date=2020-12-04 |title=NL ARMS Netherlands Annual Review of Military Studies 2020 |location=The Hague |publisher=T.M.C. Asser Press |pages=374 |doi=10.1007/978-94-6265-419-8_19 |isbn=978-94-6265-418-1 |s2cid=227268011 |doi-access=free|pmc=7711746 }}

The Sukhoi Su-25 is a ground attack aircraft and it is not designed to destroy aircraft.{{Cite web |last=Atherton |first=Kelsey D. |date=2014-07-23 |title=Could This Old Warplane Really Shoot Down MH17? |url=https://www.popsci.com/article/technology/could-old-warplane-really-shoot-down-mh17/ |access-date=2022-01-17 |website=Popular Science}}{{Cite web|date=2014-07-21|title=Ruská blamáž. Su-25 na boeing střílet nemohl, nevyletí tak vysoko|trans-title=Russian embarrassment. Su-25 could not shoot down a Boeing, it won't fly that high|url=https://echo24.cz/a/wCc2Z/ruska-blamaz-su-25-na-boeing-strilet-nemohl-nevyleti-tak-vysoko|access-date=2022-01-17|website=echo24.cz|language=cs}} The claim that the Su-25 could have downed the Boeing 777 with an air-to-air missile was studied and dismissed by the Joint-investigation team (JIT), Public Prosecution Service and numerous independent experts, including chief designer of the Su-25, {{Interlanguage link|Vladimir Babak|ru|Бабак, Владимир Петрович|arz|ڤلاديمير باباك}}.{{Cite web|date=27 April 2015|title=MH17 – German investigative team's fact-check|url=https://www.dw.com/en/mh17-german-investigative-teams-fact-check/a-18406490|access-date=6 December 2020|website=Deutsche Welle}}{{Cite news|last1=Leyendecker|first1=Hans|last2=von Osten|first2=Demian|date=10 March 2015|title=MH 17 wurde vom Boden aus abgeschossen|language=de|trans-title=MH 17 was shot down from the ground|newspaper=Süddeutsche Zeitung|url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/krieg-in-der-ukraine-mh-17-wurde-vom-boden-aus-abgeschossen-1.2386385|access-date=2020-12-06}}{{cite web|date=11 March 2015|title=General designer of Su-25 says aircraft couldn't have shot down MH17|url=https://www.unian.info/world/1054085-general-designer-of-su-25-says-aircraft-couldnt-have-shot-down-mh17.html|access-date=12 March 2015|website=Ukrainian Independent Information Agency}}{{Citation|title=MH17: Debunking Russian Disinformation|date=4 March 2020 |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/mh17-debunking-russian-disinformation/30468377.html|language=en|access-date=2022-01-17}}

Public prosecutors concluded that the claim was false.{{Cite news|last=Ivshina|first=Olga|date=2021-12-22|title=Суд по делу о сбитом "Боинге" MH17: прокуратура Нидерландов просит пожизненное для обвиняемых|language=ru|trans-title=MH17 downing trial: Dutch prosecutors ask for life imprisonment for defendants|work=BBC News Russian|url=https://www.bbc.com/russian/news-59741423|access-date=2022-01-17}}{{Cite web|date=2021-07-12|title=MH17: Seven Years of Lying and Denying|url=https://euvsdisinfo.eu/mh17-seven-years-of-lying-and-denying/|access-date=2022-01-17|website=East StratCom Task Force|language=en}} The only air-to-air missiles able to shoot down MH17 were either R-33 or R-37, or R-40 missiles and a Su-25 could not carry any of these missiles.{{Cite web|last=Ivshina|first=Olga|date=2020-06-12|title=Диспетчеры, ракеты и иммунитет. Что мы узнали за неделю суда по делу МН17|trans-title=Dispatchers, missiles and immunity. What we learned during the week of the MH17 trial|url=https://www.bbc.com/russian/features-53017579|access-date=2022-01-17|website=BBC News Russian|language=ru}} Vladimir Babak also said that the Su-25 is slower than a Boeing 777,{{Cite web|date=2015-06-03|title=Russian officials reveal their witness in the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 case|url=https://meduza.io/en/news/2015/06/03/russian-officials-reveal-their-witness-in-the-malaysia-airlines-flight-17-case|access-date=2022-01-17|website=Meduza|language=en}} and the Su-25's maximum altitude was {{convert|7|km}}, while MH17 was flying at an altitude of {{convert|10|km}}.{{Cite web|last=Kanygin|first=Pavel|date=2019-07-16|title=Факты, фейки и молчание офицеров|trans-title=Facts, fakes and the silence of officers|url=https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2019/07/16/81265-fakty-feyki-i-molchanie-ofitserov|access-date=2022-01-17|website=Novaya Gazeta|language=ru}} Siemon T. Wezeman, a senior researcher from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), and the Popular Science digital magazine also said that it would be technically impossible for a Su-25 to down such a plane. Aviation engineer Mark Solonin said that the Su-25 does not have an onboard radar and its missiles could not inflict damage similar to that found on Flight 17.{{Cite web|last=Tumakova|first=Irina|date=2015-07-30|title=Марк Солонин о гибели "Боинга" MH-17: Мышеловка захлопнулась|trans-title=Mark Solonin on the Boeing MH-17 crash: The mousetrap has slammed shut|url=https://www.fontanka.ru/2015/07/29/021/|access-date=2022-01-17|website=fontanka.ru|language=ru}}{{Cite web|last=Solonin|first=Mark|author-link=Mark Solonin|date=2014-09-09|title=Сбитый "Боинг" и низкая страна (обновлено!)|trans-title=Downed Boeing and low country (updated!)|url=https://www.solonin.org/article_sbityiy-boing-i-nizkaya-strana|access-date=2022-01-17|website=solonin.org}} Military and security analyst Lukáš Visingr also said that the Su-25 could not shoot down a Boeing 777.{{Cite web|last=Visingr|first=Lukáš|date=2014-07-25|title=Všechny konspirační teorie o letu MH17|trans-title=All conspiracy theories about flight MH17|url=https://echo24.cz/a/w7kpC/vsechny-konspiracni-teorie-o-letu-mh17|access-date=2022-01-17|website=echo24.cz|language=cs}}

A subsequent presentation of radar data in 2016 by the Russian military no longer showed military aircraft present in the area.

In March 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Embassy in France again falsely blamed the Ukrainian military for the shootdown.{{cite web |title=Russian embassies are reduced to shitposting on Twitter. Their diplomatic corps are as pathetic as their military. |url=https://twitter.com/EliotHiggins/status/1502013132868362248 |access-date=10 March 2022}}

In May 2015, Novaya Gazeta published a report credited to a group of Russian military engineers. Based on their analysis of debris and damage patterns on the hull of the aircraft, they concluded that the airliner was shot down by a Buk-M1 launcher with a 9M38M1 missile. They claimed that the missile could not have been fired from Snizhne, but was instead fired from Zaroshchenske and that a Ukrainian anti-air unit was located there at that time.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/russian/rolling_news/2015/05/150505_rn_novaya_gazeta_mh17_document |title="Новая газета": новый отчет о причинах крушения MH17 |trans-title=Novaya Gazeta: new report on the causes of the crash of MH17 |date=5 May 2015 |website=BBC Russian Service |language=ru |access-date=5 December 2020}}{{cite web |url=https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2015/05/05/64063-eto-byl-171-buk-m1-187 |title=Это был "Бук-М1" |trans-title=It was "Buk-M1" |date=5 May 2015 |website=Novaya Gazeta |language=ru |access-date=5 May 2015}} In June 2015, the report was the subject of a press conference and was attributed to Mikhail Malisevskiy, chief engineer at Moscow-headquartered Almaz-Antey, the Buk missile manufacturer.{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/world/mh17-plane-was-shot-down-by-a-buk-missile-russian-weapons-manufacturer-says-20150602-ghfdco.html |title=MH17 plane was shot down by a Buk missile, Russian weapons manufacturer says |first=Nick |last=Miller |date=2 June 2015 |newspaper=The Age}} The Security Service of Ukraine said that there were inaccuracies in this version, and called part of the report a fake.{{cite web |url=http://www.stopfake.org/sbu-novye-dokazatelstva-krusheniya-boeing-na-donbasse-osnovany-na-fejkovyh-snimkah/ |title=СБУ: Новые "доказательства" крушения Boeing на Донбассе основаны на фейковых снимках |trans-title=SBU: New "evidence" of the Boeing crash in Donbas are based on fake images |date=6 May 2015 |website=StopFake |access-date=6 May 2015}} Ukrainska Pravda questioned claims about the Ukrainian anti-aircraft unit and stated that Zaroshchenske was under control of pro-Russian forces on the day of the shoot-down.{{cite web |url=http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2015/05/6/7066943/ |title=ЗМІ: Російські експерти в секретній доповіді підтвердили, що Боїнг збили з "Бука" |trans-title=Media: Russian experts confirmed in secret report, that Boeing was shot by "Buk" |date=6 May 2015 |website=Ukrainska Pravda |access-date=6 May 2015}} Novaya Gazeta published an analysis, also denying the Almaz-Antey version,{{cite web |url=https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2015/05/12/64102-sverim-traektorii |title=Сверим траектории |trans-title=Let's check the trajectories |last=Solonin |first=Mark |date=12 May 2015 |website=Novaya Gazeta}} which contained interviews with inhabitants of Zaroshchenske who denied claims that Ukrainian forces and Buk launchers were present in the village at that time.{{cite web |url=http://www.interpretermag.com/there-was-no-buk-in-our-field/ |title=There Was No Buk in Our Field |last=Fitzpatrick |first=Catherine A. |date=10 June 2015 |website=The Interpreter |publisher=Institute of Modern Russia |access-date=11 June 2015}}{{cite web |url=https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2015/06/07/64439-171-na-nashem-pole-171-buka-187-ne-bylo-ni-sleda-8212-ni-ot-gusenits-ni-ot-velosipeda-187 |title=На нашем поле "Бука" не было. Ни следа – ни от гусениц, ни от велосипеда |trans-title=There was no "Buk" on our field. Not a trace – not from the tracks, not from the bicycle |last=Kanygin |first=Pavel |date=7 June 2015 |website=Novaya Gazeta |access-date=8 June 2015}} According to Bellingcat, Russia's satellite images were from June and showed signs of editing.{{cite web |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2015/05/31/mh17-forensic-analysis-of-satellite-images-released-by-the-russian-ministry-of-defence/ |title=MH17 – Forensic Analysis of Satellite Images Released by the Russian Ministry of Defence |date=31 May 2015 |website=Bellingcat}}{{cite web |url=http://www.dw.de/forensic-report-russia-faked-mh17-satellite-photos/a-18490259 |title=Forensic report: Russia faked MH17 satellite photos |last=Dillon |first=Conor |date=1 June 2015 |website=Deutsche Welle}} Bild described the Russian satellite image as "fake".{{cite news |url=http://www.bild.de/politik/ausland/flug-mh-17/russische-beweise-gefaelscht-40861842.bild.html |title=BILD entlarvt falsche Satellitenaufnahme |trans-title=BILD exposes false satellite image |last=Röpcke |first=Julian |date=8 May 2015 |newspaper=Bild |language=de}}

On 17 September 2018, Russia's Ministry of Defence held a press conference at which Lt. Gen. Nikolai Parshin, chief of the Missile and Artillery Directorate, said that after Dutch investigators displayed parts of the missile and their serial numbers, they had studied and declassified archives at the research centre that produced the Buk missiles. Parshin said the Russian archives showed that the missile that was made from these parts was transported to a military unit in western Ukraine in 1986, and to Russia's knowledge never left Ukraine. Officials also claimed that video evidence presented by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), in which the missile that allegedly shot down the airliner was shown being moved from Russia into Ukraine, was fabricated.{{Cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/f53b42ce3aab44308730eb2d89c9e545 |title=Russia: Missile that shot down flight MH17 was Ukrainian |last1=Vasilyeva |first1=Nataliya |last2=Karmanau |first2=Yuras |last3=Corder |first3=Mike |date=17 September 2018 |website=Associated Press |access-date=5 December 2020}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/09/17/world/europe/ap-eu-russia-mh17.html |title=Russia: Missile That Shot Down Flight MH17 Was Ukrainian |last1=Karmanau |first1=Yuras |last2=Corder |first2=Mike |date=17 September 2018 |newspaper=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918054525/https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/09/17/world/europe/ap-eu-russia-mh17.html |archive-date=18 September 2018}}

JIT responded that it had requested details about recovered missile parts from Russia in May 2018, but had received no answer. It said, information from the Russian Ministry of Defence would be carefully studied as soon as the documents were made available, as requested in May 2018 and required by UNSC in 2016. JIT stated it had always carefully analysed information provided by Russia, but information presented to the public was inaccurate on several points. Russia had given differing accounts over time of how MH17 was shot down; for example claiming to have evidence (radar images) that a Ukrainian fighter fired an air-to-air missile at MH17.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45546611 |title=MH17 crash: Dutch ask Russia to submit new claims |date=17 September 2018 |website=BBC News |access-date=18 September 2018}}{{cite web |date=17 September 2018 |title=Reaction JIT to press conference of Russian Ministry of Defense |url=https://www.om.nl/actueel/nieuwsberichten/@104053/reaction-jit-to/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105223122/https://www.om.nl/actueel/nieuwsberichten/@104053/reaction-jit-to/ |archive-date=5 November 2018 |access-date=18 September 2018 |website=Openbaar Ministerie}}

On 18 July, Igor Girkin, the commander of the Donbas People's Militia, was quoted as stating that "a significant number of the bodies weren't fresh". He followed up by saying "Ukrainian authorities are capable of any baseness"; and also claimed that blood serum and medications were found in the wreckage in large quantities.{{cite web |url=https://news.yahoo.com/rebel-leader-gives-bizarre-account-plane-crash-182256709.html |title=Rebel leader gives bizarre account of plane crash |date=18 July 2014 |website=Yahoo! News |agency=Associated Press |access-date=18 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140721032149/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/rebel-suggests-malaysia-plane-victims-long-dead |archive-date=21 July 2014 |url-status=dead}} Girkin also claimed that some of the passengers had died a few days before the crash.{{cite web |url=http://rusvesna.su/news/1405676334 |first=Igor |last=Strelkov |date=18 July 2014 |website=RusVesna |language=ru |script-title=ru:Игорь Стрелков: часть людей из Боинга умерли за несколько суток до катастрофы |trans-title=Some of the Boeing's passengers died a few days before the crash |access-date=19 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719234136/http://rusvesna.su/news/1405676334 |archive-date=19 July 2014}}

According to the Russian military, in what New York magazine called "Russia's Conspiracy Theory", MH17 was shot down by the Ukrainians, using either a surface-to-air missile or a fighter aircraft.{{Cite magazine |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2014/07/russia-mh17-downed-by-ukrainian-jet-missile.html |title=Intelligencer: Russia's 'Conspiracy Theory': MH17 Shot Down by Ukrainian Fighter Jet or Missile |last=Hartmann |first=Margaret |date=22 July 2014 |magazine=New York |access-date=6 December 2020}} On 21 July 2014, the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) held a press conference and claimed that satellite photographs showed that the Ukrainian army moved a Buk SAM battery to the area close to the territory controlled by the rebels on the morning of 17 July, hours before the crash. They said the installation was moved away again by 18 July. The Russian MoD also claimed that they had detected a Ukrainian airforce Su-25 and that this ground-attack aircraft approached to within {{convert|3|to|5|km|mi|frac=2|spell=in}} of the Malaysian airliner wreckage.{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-presents-its-account-of-malaysia-airlines-flight-17-crash-1405952441 |title=Russia Presents Its Account of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Crash |last1=Razumovskaya |first1=Olga |last2=Lauria |first2=Joe |last3=Barnes |first3=Julian E. |last4=Ostrower |first4=Jon |date=21 July 2014 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=22 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150106084711/https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-presents-its-account-of-malaysia-airlines-flight-17-crash-1405952441 |archive-date=6 January 2015}} In 2015 Bellingcat purchased satellite photos from the same area and time as used by the MoD and demonstrated that the MoD had used older photos (May and June 2014) in their presentation, and that the presentation had been edited to make a Ukrainian Buk launcher appear as if it had been removed after the attack.{{cite news |url=http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2015-06/bellingcat-russland-mh17-satellitenfotos-manipulation |title=MH17-Absturz kontert Kritik mit neuen Satellitenbildern |date=12 June 2015 |newspaper=De Zeit |language=de |access-date=17 June 2015}} In the report published by the Dutch Safety Board, an air-to-air missile strike was ruled out.

The Russian government-funded{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10976920/British-journalist-working-for-Russian-TV-resigns-over-bias-in-Ukraine-MH17-coverage.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10976920/British-journalist-working-for-Russian-TV-resigns-over-bias-in-Ukraine-MH17-coverage.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=British journalist working for Russian TV resigns over bias in Ukraine MH17 coverage |last=Squires |first=Nick |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=18 July 2014 |access-date=19 July 2014}}{{cbignore}} TV network RT initially said that the airliner may have been shot down by Ukraine in a failed attempt to assassinate Vladimir Putin, in a plot which was organised by Ukraine's "Western backers". This was quickly dismissed as Putin's flight route was hundreds of kilometres north of Ukraine.{{cite news |url=http://wyborcza.pl/1,75477,16347795,Moskwa_obwinia_Ukraine.html?piano_t=1 |title='Zamach na Putina', 'Ile odszkodowań zapłacą Ukraińcy' i zmiany w Wikipedii. Ofensywa propagandowa Moskwy |trans-title="The attempt on Putin", "How much compensation will pay Ukrainians" and changes in Wikipedia. Moscow's propaganda offensive |first=Wacław |last=Radziwinowicz |date=18 July 2014 |newspaper=Gazeta Wyborcza |language=pl |url-access=subscription |access-date=19 July 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.businessinsider.co.id/rt-malaysia-airlines-ukraine-2014-7/ |title=Here's The Ridiculous Way Russia's Propaganda Channel Is Covering The Malaysia Airlines Crash |last1=Szoldra |first1=Paul |website=Business Insider |date=18 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720054152/http://www.businessinsider.co.id/rt-malaysia-airlines-ukraine-2014-7/ |archive-date=20 July 2014}}

Other conspiracy theories propagated by Russian pro-government media included claims that the Ukrainians had shot down the airliner by mistake, drawing parallels to the downing of Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 in 2001 (reported in December 2014{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30597555 |title=MH17: Russia reveals 'witness' who blames Ukraine pilot |date=24 December 2014 |website=BBC News |access-date=27 December 2014}}); that Ukrainian air traffic controllers had deliberately redirected the flight to fly over the war zone; and that the Ukrainian government had organised the attack to discredit the pro-Russian rebels.{{cite news |url=https://news.yahoo.com/russians-fed-conspiracy-theories-ukraine-crash-064400429.html |title=Russians Fed Conspiracy Theories on Ukraine Crash |website=Yahoo! News |date=22 July 2014 |first=Laura |last=Mills |agency=Associated Press |access-date=22 July 2014}} The number of alternative theories disseminated in Russian mass media started growing as the DSB and JIT investigations increasingly pointed towards the separatists.{{Cite web |url=http://buran.ru/htm/mh17.htm |title=Как и почему погиб рейс МН17 над Донбассом? Брифинг Министерства обороны России |trans-title=How and why did flight MH17 die over Donbass? Russian Defense Ministry briefing |website=Buran.ru |language=ru |access-date=6 August 2016}}

In 2017, Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad described how false stories about the MH17 crash had been propagated with the support of Christian Democratic Appeal politician Pieter Omtzigt, who introduced a Russian-speaking Ukrainian man as an "eyewitness" to the crash on a public expert debate in May 2017. The man, who was an asylum-seeker from Ukraine, did not witness the crash and his speech, texted to him by Omtzigt prior to the interview, repeated the Russian-promoted version that Ukrainian jets downed the Boeing.{{cite news |url=https://www.newsweek.com/russian-propaganda-moscow-releases-audio-blaming-ukraine-downing-mh17-flight-1124371 |title=Russian propaganda? Moscow releases audio blaming Ukraine downing MH17 flight that killed almost 300 |first=Cristina |last=Maza |date=17 September 2018 |newspaper=Newsweek}}

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File:Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crash site.png and Snizhne" See also several mentions of one or both of these towns in the Cause of crash section and elsewhere in this article}}]]

{{col-float-end}}

The shootdown of MH17 is featured in the fourth episode of eighteenth season of the Canadian documentary television programme Mayday, in the episode titled "Deadly Airspace".{{IMDb title|qid=Q123569614}} It is also a major event in Maryna Er Gorbach's film Klondike.{{Cite web |last=Lodge |first=Guy |date=January 29, 2022 |title='Klondike' Review: Harrowing Drama Braids Marital and Political Warfare on the Russian-Ukrainian Border |url=https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/klondike-review-1235166795/ |access-date=February 27, 2022 |website=Variety.com}}

{{Portal|Aviation|Malaysia|Netherlands|Russia|Ukraine}}

• List of aircraft accidents and incidents resulting in at least 50 fatalities
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{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Malaysia Airlines Flight 17}}

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• [https://www.prosecutionservice.nl/topics/mh17-plane-crash Criminal investigation of MH17 plane crash by Netherlands Public Prosecution Service]
• {{cite web |url=https://www.politie.nl/themas/flight-mh17/witness-appeal-crash-mh17.html |title=MH17 Witness Appeal November 2019 with the release of further recorded conversations |website=Politie.nl }}
• {{cite web |url=https://www.onderzoeksraad.nl/en/media/attachment/2018/7/10/debcd724fe7breport_mh17_crash.pdf |title=MH17 Crash – final report |date=2015-10-13 |website=Dutch Safety Board |access-date=13 February 2019 |archive-date=13 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151013141325/http://cdn.onderzoeksraad.nl/documents/report-mh17-crash-en.pdf |url-status=dead }}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.onderzoeksraad.nl/en/onderzoek/2049/investigation-crash-mh17-17-july-2014 |title=Investigation crash MH17, 17 July 2014 Donetsk |website=Dutch Safety Board |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140730153936/http://www.onderzoeksraad.nl/en/onderzoek/2049/investigation-crash-mh17-17-july-2014 |archive-date=30 July 2014 }}
• {{cite web |url=https://www.om.nl/onderwerpen/mh17-crash/ |title=MH17 crash – the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) updates |website=Dutch Public Prosecution Service |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201093425/https://www.om.nl/onderwerpen/mh17-crash/ |archive-date=February 1, 2018 }}
• {{cite web |url=https://www.rechtspraak.nl/Uitspraken-en-nieuws/Bekende-rechtszaken/strafzaak-mh17/Paginas/criminal-case-MH17-EN.aspx |title=MH17 criminal trial |website=de Rechtspraak |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517040803/https://www.rechtspraak.nl/Bekende-rechtszaken/strafzaak-mh17/Paginas/criminal-case-MH17-EN.aspx |archive-date=2019-05-17 }}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/my/en/site/mh17.html |title=Media Statement & Information on Flight MH17 |website=Malaysia Airlines |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718001909/http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/my/en/site/mh17.html |archive-date=July 18, 2014 }}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.mot.gov.my/en/Newsroom/Pages/MH17.aspx |title=Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (Archive) |website=Malaysia Ministry of Transport |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215071812/http://www.mot.gov.my/en/Newsroom/Pages/MH17.aspx |archive-date=December 15, 2014 }}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/content/dam/malaysia-airlines/mas/PDF/MH17/MH17%20PAX%20AND%20CREW%20MANIFEST%20200714.pdf |title=Official MH17 Passenger Manifest |website=Malaysia Airlines |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140722183421/http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/content/dam/malaysia-airlines/mas/PDF/MH17/MH17%20PAX%20AND%20CREW%20MANIFEST%20200714.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2014 }}
• {{cite web |url=https://www.flightradar24.com/data/pinned/mh17-3d6095b#3d6095b |title=Full flight history for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 |website=Flightradar24 }}
• {{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/17/malaysia-airlines-plane-crashes-ukraine-live |title=Malaysia Airlines plane MH17 'shot down' in Ukraine – as it happened |first1=Helen |last1=Davidson |first2=Alan |last2=Yuhas |date=18 July 2014 |newspaper=The Guardian }}
• {{cite news |url=http://graphics.wsj.com/mh17-crash-map/ |title=Map of a Tragedy: How MH17 Came Apart Over Ukraine |first=Jon |last=Ostrower |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal }}

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Category:2014 in Malaysia

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