PM of Netherlands about MH17 tragedy: Loss is huge, lasting
Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte has expressed his condolences and wished additional strength to the relatives of the victims of flight MH17.
The relevant statement Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte made on Twitter, Ukrinform reports.
"Today, nine years ago, flight MH17 was brought down. 298 innocent people were ripped from their lives overnight. Today we remember them and reflect on the grief of the bereaved. The loss is great and lasting. On this difficult day, I wish them (relatives - ed.) extra strength and strength," Rutte said.
Since 2014, July 17 has become a special day in the Netherlands. Every year on this day, the families of the victims mourn their loved ones and once again remind the world of the terrible consequences of Russian aggression.
As Ukrinform reported, Ukrainians in the Netherlands observed a minute of silence in memory of those killed in the MH17 tragedy.
On the ninth anniversary of the tragedy, Ukrainians gathered at the memorial complex in memory of the victims of the tragedy near Schiphol Airport, from where the passenger plane MH17 took off on July 17, 2014.
Ukrainians laid bouquets of sunflowers at the MH17 monument, as the plane crashed into a field of sunflowers.
The Malaysia Airlines passenger Boeing-777, which was flying MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed over the temporarily occupied part of Donetsk region on July 17, 2014.
There were 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board, all of whom died.
Former FSB officer Ihor Hirkin (Strelkov), former "Minister of Defense of the DPR", General of the GRU of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, head of the GRU of the DPR Serhii Dubynskyi and Ukrainian citizen Leonid Kharchenko who were found guilty in the case of the downing of flight MH17, must pay 16 million euros in compensation.
This decision was made by a court in the Netherlands.
Hirkin, Dubynskyi and Kharchenko were sentenced to life imprisonment. GRU Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Pulatov was acquitted.
The International Investigation Team concluded that the plane was shot down by a Buk anti-aircraft missile system belonging to the 53rd Air Defense Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces stationed in Kursk.