MH17 case: Families of the victims from the plane crash urge Russia to acknowledge its responsibility as part of a peace agreement with Ukraine.

Relatives of the victims of the Malaysian "Boeing" MH-17 aviation tragedy over Donbas in 2014 are demanding that Russia acknowledge its guilt for the downing of the aircraft as part of a peace agreement regarding the war in Ukraine.

This is mentioned in letters, copies of which are available to “European Truth.”

The letters were sent to U.S. President Donald Trump, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte, and the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell.

The families of nearly three hundred deceased believe that without Russia's acknowledgment of guilt, “there can be no reliable peace with Russia.”

The Hague District Court found Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinsky, and Leonid Kharchenko guilty in the tragedy, sentencing them to life imprisonment. The fourth defendant, Oleg Pulatov, was acquitted.

The court explained Pulatov's acquittal by stating that investigators failed to prove he was in contact with the "Buk" team and had direct involvement in the launch. However, he was aware of the launch plans. The court also ruled that in 2014, the territory of the occupied Donetsk region was under Russian control and received weapons from there.

As early as April 2019, the European Court of Human Rights informed the Russian government about complaints from the relatives of the MH-17 disaster victims. They demanded explanations from the country's authorities and complained about Russia's lack of cooperation with the international investigation. Soon after, the Dutch government also filed a lawsuit with the ECHR to support the victims' relatives.

The investigators who handled the MH-17 case released a recording of a conversation between Russian leader Putin and the leader of pro-Russian militants in Luhansk, Igor Plotnitsky, which took place on November 15, 2017.

The Joint Investigation Team published a comprehensive report on the results of the investigation, which discusses the individuals in Russia responsible for the downing of the aircraft.

Among the intercepted communications regarding military support to the militants, there are those that note that there is only one “decision-maker” on this matter. This is stated by an assistant to the head of the occupation administration in Crimea, Aksyonov. In an intercepted communication dated June 2014, it is added that this “individual” is attending a summit in France.

On June 5 and 6, 2014, Putin was in France for the celebration of the D-Day landings during World War II. Despite the release of the recording, investigators stated that they did not have sufficient evidence to bring new cases to court, for example, against Putin.

It should be noted that last year Ukraine called Putin's proposal for a “peace agreement” involving the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops and the recognition of occupied territories absurd.