Netherlands, Australia to hold Russia liable for shooting down MH17:
Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok says the Netherlands and Australia will hold Russia legally responsible for shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014.
"The government is now taking the next step by formally holding Russia accountable," Blok said on May 25, a day after a Dutch-led international criminal investigation concluded the Buk missile that shot down the plane came from Russia's 53rd Antiaircraft Missile Brigade.
Russia's Defense Ministry reiterated it had nothing to do with the downing of the plane.
MH17 was shot down over the conflict zone in Ukraine's Donetsk region on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 people on board.
Russia denies interfering in Ukraine's internal affairs, despite compelling evidence that Moscow has provided military, economic, and political support to separatists fighting against Kyiv.
Russia and the separatists deny shooting down MH17 and have offered several other theories to explain the incident, all of which have been rejected by investigators. (AP, Reuters)