Relatives of the 298 people who died when Flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine in 2014 hope that judges issuing a verdict in a Dutch murder trial on Thursday will highlight what they see as Russia's overarching role in the incident.
Members of the court are seen during the extensive criminal proceedings regarding the downing of flight MH17, in Badhoevedorp, near Amsterdam, on December 22, 2021. Sem van der Wal/ ANP/ AFP
Moscow has denied any wrongdoing and repeatedly dismissed the findings of investigators that the missile launcher used in the attack came from a Russian military base in Kursk and that Russia was backing rebels in Ukraine fighting government forces. Kyiv launched a case accusing Moscow of financing terrorism in 2017 over its alleged support for separatist groups in Ukraine.
Ukraine has claimed in legal cases against Russia in European courts and at the ICJ that Moscow controlled separatists in the Donbas region where MH17 was shot down.