Three Russians and one Ukrainian have been charged with murder in the Netherlands over the downing of flight MH17 in July 2014 with the loss of 298 lives.

Three Russians and one Ukrainian have been charged with murder in the Netherlands over the downing of flight MH17 in July 2014 with the loss of 298 lives.

Four charged in Netherlands over shooting down of plane over Ukraine

Dutch National Police chief Wilbert Paulissen identified Russians Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky and Oleg Pulatov, along with Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko, as suspects in the downing of the plane in Ukrainian air space, and announced that their trial would start in March 2020.

There are no plans to seek the extradition of the four.

All passengers and crew on board the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur were killed on July 17 2014, when a missile shattered the Boeing 777 in midair sending debris and bodies raining down onto farms and fields of sunflowers.

One of the named murder suspects denied Ukrainian separatists shot down the plane.

Girkin told The Associated Press by phone on Wednesday that “the insurgents did not shoot it down”.

An international investigation team looking into the plane crash has blamed it on a Russian missile that was shot from separatist-held territory.

Girkin, a Russian national, was a military chief of the Russia-backed rebels in the area at the time and was named by the investigators as one of the key suspects.

The international team investigating the downing of the flight will not ask Russia and Ukraine to extradite the four suspects.

Prosecutor Fred Westerbeke said that the team realises that the constitutions of both countries prohibit that.

“In the short term we will ask Russia to hand the summons to the suspects who are in the Russian Federation,” he said.

Silene Fredriksz-Hoogzand, whose son Bryce was among the dead, expressed relief that five years after the plane was blown out of the sky above conflict-torn eastern Ukraine, a trial could finally start next year.

“This is what we hoped for,” Ms Fredriksz-Hoogzand said.

“This is a start of it. It is a good start.”

She added that she did not expect any of them to appear for the trial, due to begin on March 9. </s> NIEUWEGEIN, THE NETHERLANDS: Three Russians and a Ukrainian will face murder charges for the July 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in which 298 people were killed.

The trial will start in the Netherlands next March, an investigation team said yesterday.

The suspects are likely to be tried in absentia, however, as the Netherlands has said Russia has not cooperated with the investigation and is not expected to hand anyone over.

The Dutch-led international team tasked with assigning criminal responsibility for the plane's destruction named the four suspects as Russians Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinsky and Oleg Pulatov, and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko. It said international arrest warrants for the four have been issued.

MH17 was shot out of the sky on July 17, 2014, over territory held by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine as it was flying from Amsterdam to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. Everyone on board was killed.

The joint investigation team formed by Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine found that the plane was shot down by a Russian missile. Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was not to blame.

The Netherlands and Australia have said they hold Russia legally responsible.

Asked if she expected the suspects to attend the trial, Ms Silene Fredriksz, whose son Bryce was on the plane with his girlfriend Daisy, said: "No. No, I don't think so. But I don't care. I just want the truth, and this is the truth." </s> Three Russians and a Ukrainian will face murder charges for the July 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in which 298 people were killed, an investigation team said on Wednesday. The trial is scheduled for next March in the Netherlands.

The suspects are likely to be tried in absentia as the Netherlands has said Russia has not cooperated with the investigation and is not expected to hand anyone over.

The Dutch-led international team tasked with assigning criminal responsibility for the plane’s destruction named the four suspects as Russians Sergey Dubinsky, Oleg Pulatov and Igor Girkin, and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko.

International arrest warrants for the four have been issued.

MH17 was shot out of the sky on July 17, 2014, over territory held by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine as it was flying from Amsterdam to the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. Everyone on board was killed.

Most of those on board were Dutch. The joint investigation team formed by Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine found that the plane was shot down by a Russian missile.

“Absolutely unfounded accusations are being made against the Russian side, aimed at discrediting Russia in the eyes of the international community,” the foreign ministry said. </s> Three Russians and a Ukrainian will face murder charges for the July 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in which 298 people were killed, in a trial to start in the Netherlands next March, an investigation team said on Wednesday.

The suspects are likely to be tried in absentia, however, as the Netherlands has said Russia has not co-operated with the investigation and is not expected to hand anyone over.

The Dutch-led international team tasked with assigning criminal responsibility for the plane's destruction named the four suspects as Russians Sergey Dubinsky, Oleg Pulatov and Igor Girkin, and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko. It said international arrest warrants for the four have been issued.

MH17 was shot out of the sky on July 17 2014, over territory held by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine as it was flying from Amsterdam to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. Everyone on board was killed.

Most of those on board were Dutch. The joint investigation team formed by Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine found that the plane was shot down by a Russian missile.

Last year Russian President Vladimir Putin called MH17's downing a "terrible tragedy" but said that Moscow was not to blame and that there are other explanations for what happened.

The governments of the Netherlands and Australia have said they hold Russia legally responsible. </s> The court case over the crash of the Malaysia Airlines plane will start in the Netherlands in March 2020.

Of the passengers who died, 196 were Dutch and 38 Australian. Any trial is likely to be in the Netherlands where the majority of the victims came from. (Photo: AP)

Nieuwegein: Dutch prosecutors are to put four people on trial for murder next year over the shooting down of flight MH17 over Ukraine, in which 298 people were killed, relatives said on Wednesday.

The court case over the crash of the Malaysia Airlines plane will start in the Netherlands in March 2020, according to family members who were briefed ahead of an announcement by international investigators due about 1100 GMT.

The identities of the four people to be charged were not immediately available but a Ukrainian minister and reports said on Tuesday they included at least one senior Russian officer.

The airliner travelling between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur was torn apart in mid-air after being hit by a missile over territory in eastern Ukraine held by pro-Russian separatists on July 17, 2014, investigators say.

"There is a court case on March 9 2020 against four people for murder," Silene Fredriksz, whose son and daughter-in-law were killed in the disaster, told reporters.

"I am happy that the trial is finally going to start and that the names have been announced. It's a start. I'm satisfied."

The charges come nearly a year after the international probe into the crash said the BUK missile which hit the Boeing 777 had originated from a Russian military brigade based in the southwestern city of Kursk.

Asked if she personally blamed anyone for the crash, Fredriksz said: "Mr (Russian President Vladimir) Putin.

"Because he made this possible. He created this situation. He is the main responsible person."

Russia has vehemently denied all involvement in the shooting down of MH17. On Wednesday it complained of being excluded from the probe despite "proactively" trying to be involved.

"You know our attitude towards this investigation. Russia had no opportunity to take part in it even though it showed initiative from... the very first days of this tragedy," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Ukraine's deputy foreign minister Olena Zerkal said on Tuesday that four people would be named over MH17 and senior Russian army officers were involved.

Zerkal said the transfer of weapons like the BUK anti-aircraft missile system "is impossible without the (Russian) top brass's permission".

Dutch media have named several suspects including the head of the 53rd anti-aircraft brigade, the Russian unit identified by the probe last year.

The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing the attack includes Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine.

The Netherlands and Australia said in May last year that they formally "hold Russia responsible" for the disaster, after the findings on the origin of the missile were announced.

Of the passengers who died, 196 were Dutch and 38 Australian. Any trial is likely to be in the Netherlands where the majority of the victims came from.

The suspects could be tried in absentia as Russia does not extradite its nationals for prosecution, said Dutch broadcaster RTL, quoting anonymous sources.

"After five years, it is finally clear that justice will be done. This is very important for surviving relatives," Piet Ploeg, president of a Dutch victims' association who lost three family members on MH17, told AFP.

Investigative website Bellingcat on Wednesday named a series of Ukrainian separatists that it said were linked to the downing of MH17, based on phone intercepts previously revealed by the Dutch-led team.

The Dutch safety board said in 2015 that the plane had been hit by a BUK missile, with the JIT reaching the same conclusion in 2016.

Then in May 2018 the JIT said MH17 was shot down by a BUK missile from Russia's 53rd brigade, but that they were still searching for suspects.

They showed videos and animation of the BUK launcher as part of a Russian military convoy, using video clips found on social media and then checked against Google Maps, as it travelled from Kursk to eastern Ukraine.

Russia insisted last year that the missile was fired by Kiev's forces, adding that it was sent to Ukraine in the Soviet era.

The war in eastern Ukraine and the MH17 disaster continue to plague relations between Russia and the West.

Since 2014, some 13,000 people have been killed. Kiev and its Western backers accuse Russia of funnelling troops and arms to back the separatists. Moscow has denied the claims despite evidence to the contrary. </s> The suspects are likely to be tried in absentia, however, as the Netherlands has said Russia has not cooperated with the investigation and is not expected to hand anyone over.

Three Russians and a Ukrainian will face murder charges for the July 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in which 298 people were killed, in a trial to start in the Netherlands next March, an investigation team said on Wednesday.

Ukrainian rescue servicemen look through the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on July 20, 2014 in Grabovo, Ukraine.

The Dutch-led international team tasked with assigning criminal responsibility for the plane's destruction named the four suspects as Russians Sergey Dubinsky, Oleg Pulatov and Igor Girkin, and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko.

It said international arrest warrants for the four have been issued. MH17 was shot out of the sky on July 17, 2014, over territory held by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine as it was flying from Amsterdam to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. Everyone on board was killed.

Most of those on board were Dutch. The joint investigation team formed by Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine found that the plane was shot down by a Russian missile.

Last year Russian President Vladimir Putin called MH17's downing a "terrible tragedy" but said that Moscow was not to blame and that there are other explanations for what happened.

The governments of the Netherlands and Australia have said they hold Russia legally responsible.

Asked if she expected the suspects to attend the trial, Silene Fredriksz, whose son Bryce was on the plane with his girlfriend Daisy, said: "No. No, I don't think so. But I don't care. I just want the truth, and this is the truth."

Moscow has said it does not trust the investigation.

"Russia was unable to take part in the investigation despite expressing an interest right from the start and trying to join it", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier on Wednesday. </s> (CNN) Four people will be charged with murder and causing the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, five years after the plane was shot down in eastern Ukraine killing 298 people, international investigators said Wednesday.

The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) said it would issue national and international arrest warrants for the four suspects. Three Russians, Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy and Oleg Pulatov, were named, along with Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko.

The flight was on its way from Amsterdam to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur in July 2014, when it was shot out of the sky over territory held by pro-Russian separatists.

According to investigators, Girkin is a former colonel of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), Dubinskiy was employed by Russia's military intelligence agency GRU and Pulatov was a former soldier of the Russian special forces, Spetsnaz-GRU.

Ukraine's Kharchenko had no military background, but is believed to have led a combat unit in Donetwsk in July 2014.

Read More </s> Three Russians and one Ukrainian to stand trial for murder in Netherlands over shooting down of MH17 flight </s> FILE – In this Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015 file photo, the reconstructed wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 is put on display during a press conference in Gilze-Rijen, central Netherlands. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 broke up high over Eastern Ukraine killing all 298 people on board. Any suspects in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 over Ukraine in 2014 will be prosecuted in the Netherlands, the Dutch government announced Wednesday July 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Latest on the probe into the downing of flight MH17 (all times local):

Dutch National Police chief Wilbert Paulissen says three Russians and one Ukrainian have been charged with murder over the downing of flight MH17 in July 2014 with the loss of 298 lives.

He identified Russians Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky and Oleg Pulatov, along with Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko, as suspects in the downing of the plane, and announced that their trial would start in March 2020.

All passengers and crew on board the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur were killed on July 17, 2014, when a missile shattered the Boeing 777 in midair sending debris and bodies raining down onto farms and fields of sunflowers.

The mother of one of the victims says at least four suspects are to be tried for murder over the 2014 downing of Malaysia Flight 17.

Silene Fredriksz-Hoogzand, whose son Bryce and his girlfriend Daisy Oehlers were among the dead, expressed relief that five years after the plane was blown out of the sky above conflict-torn eastern Ukraine, someone was being held accountable.

She told reporters that the trial would start on March 9, 2020. Investigators briefed the families Wednesday morning before they were due to give a news conference.

All 298 passengers and crew on board the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur were killed on July 17, 2014, when a missile shattered the Boeing 777 in midair sending debris and bodies raining down onto farms and fields of sunflowers.

An international team of investigators building a criminal case against those responsible in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 is set to announce progress in the probe, nearly five years after the plane was blown out of the sky above conflict-torn eastern Ukraine.

All 298 passengers and crew on board the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur were killed on July 17, 2014, when a missile shattered the Boeing 777 in midair sending debris and bodies raining down onto farms and fields of sunflowers.

Ukraine’s deputy minister for foreign affairs, Olena Zerkal, told Interfax-Ukraine news agency Tuesday that the investigators will name four suspects. Prosecutors declined to comment on her statements.

The families of those killed will be informed of developments Wednesday ahead of a news conference by investigators.
Four people, three Russians and a Ukrainian, will be charged with murder for the crash that killed 298 people on July 17, 2014. The trial is to be held on March 9, 2020 and take place in Badhoevedorp, Netherlands.