A Dutch court found on Thursday (17) Russian Igor Girkin and Sergei Dubinsky and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko guilty of playing a “key role” in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on 17 July 2014 in Ukraine.

Tried by default, the trio were sentenced to life in prison, and together they must pay around 16m euros (plus income) to the relatives of the 298 victims. The fourth suspect, Russian Oleg Pulatov, was acquitted for lack of evidence.

“Only the highest penalty is appropriate for the consequences of such acts,” the judges said after more than two hours of hearing.

In the judgment, the three suspects were found guilty of carrying a Buk-type missile system from a Russian military base and firing the equipment at Pervomaisk, a town in Lugansk controlled by pro-Moscow separatists.

All were considered “close” to the Russian Armed Forces and charged with “coordinated military action”.

“Parts of the Buk missile were found on the bodies of the victims and are irrefutable proof that this missile caused the plane to crash,” the court’s decision, which has not yet been fully disclosed, says.

Flight MH17 left Amsterdam, Netherlands and was en route to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, when it disappeared from radar while flying over eastern Ukraine. At that time the region had started a conflict with Kiev to join Russia and had military support from Moscow – this conflict had resulted in the current war.

Relatives of the victims from 10 different countries, including 196 Dutch, 43 Malaysian and 38 Australian, were present during the sentence.

Despite the conviction, the three are unlikely to serve their sentences, as they are all in Russia and the country does not extradite citizens.

Reactions – After the verdict was announced, Ukraine’s current president Volodymyr Zelensky used social media to say it was an “important decision” of the Dutch court.

Emphasizing that these were “first decisions” for the defendants, the president also demanded that the Russians be held responsible for the current war, “as the sense of impunity leads to new crimes.”

“We must dispel this illusion. It is inevitable that all the atrocities committed by the Russian Federation now and before will be punished,” he wrote.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte also took the floor, saying that everyone has been waiting for this decision for a “long time”.

“It is a positive fact that we have finally reached this point.

This is another step in the pursuit of truth and justice for the victims and their loved ones. But it is also another difficult and sad day for many families and relatives of the 298 people who lost their lives on that terrible day. And even if there is a decision, it is still not the final result,” Rutte said, noting that it is still possible to appeal.