Ten years have passed since Flight MH17 was downed over eastern Ukraine on July 17. Australia’s prime minister said the country “remains steadfast” in seeking “truth, justice and accountability from those responsible.”
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Australia, Netherlands lead MH17 commemorations, 10 years on
6 hours ago6 hours ago
July 17 is the tenth anniversary of the downing of Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine. Australia’s prime minister said the country “remains steadfast” in seeking “truth, justice and accountability from those responsible.”
https://p.dw.com/p/4iO9L
A close up photo of the centerpiece of the MH17 memorial in Vijfhuizen in the Netherlands: a silver disc with the names of the 298 on board the plane who died etched on to it. Image from July 10, 2024.
In total, 283 passengers and 15 crew were on the plane; none survivedImage: Sem van der Wal/ANP/picture alliance
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Wednesday is the tenth anniversary of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 being shot down over eastern Ukraine by rebel forces with Russian support and equipment.
Ceremonies in Europe later on Wednesday will center around Vijfhuizen in the Netherlands, near Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport, where the plane took off — the site of the monument to the 283 passengers and 15 crew killed.
Of the victims, 193 were from the Netherlands.
A shot of the MH17 memorial in Vijfhuizen, the Netherlands, focused on a plaque at the base of the sculpture inscribed with the flight number and the date of the tragedy. Image taken on July 10, 2024.A shot of the MH17 memorial in Vijfhuizen, the Netherlands, focused on a plaque at the base of the sculpture inscribed with the flight number and the date of the tragedy. Image taken on July 10, 2024.
The downing took place fairly early in the war in eastern Ukraine following Russia’s annexation of Crimea but predating its full-scale invasion in 2022Image: Sem van der Wal/ANP/picture alliance
Australia mourns in Canberra ceremony
In Canberra, Australia — far ahead of the Netherlands in terms of timezones — a memorial took place at Parliament House’s Great Hall on Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong and former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, in office when the commercial airliner was shot down, were among the attendees.
Twenty-nine of the dead were Australian citizens and another nine were residents.
“Ten years ago, we woke to news as incomprehensible now as it was then: 298 lives taken; 298 voyages ended, yet forever incomplete; 38 who called Australia home, one of the worst Australian peacetime losses of life,” Wong said at the ceremony.
“You have lost so much. But you are not alone in your loss. We are with you,” Wong told the friends and relatives of the deceased. “And your grief steels us in the fight for justice, as it has steeled Australia since that terrible day.”
