Australia slaps sanctions against those involved in downing flight MH17 over Ukraine

At least 298 people, including 38 Australians, were killed in downing of the plane in 2014

The Australian government has slapped financial sanctions on three men involved in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) in 2014, foreign minister Penny Wong said on Saturday.

The flight was brought down by a Russian-made missile over Ukraine – killing 298 people onboard, including 38 Australian residents.

In November last year, a Dutch court convicted Russian intelligence agents Igor Girkin and Sergey Dubinskiy, and Ukrainian separatist leader Leonid Kharchenko in absentia for murder, and sentenced them to life in prison.

Presiding judge Hendrik Steenhuis said evidence presented by prosecutors at the trial proved the Boeing 777 – flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur – was brought down by a Buk missile fired by pro-Moscow Ukrainian rebels on 17 July 2014.

None of the defendants appeared for the trial that began in March 2020 and it is deemed unlikely that the men will serve a prison sentence any time soon.

The plane was one of 160 flights that crossed the airspace of eastern Ukraine that day. MH17 crashed near the Ukrainian village of Hrabove.

There was an exclusion zone at 32,000ft because of the conflict between the Ukrainian government and Russian-backed rebels.

Five countries – the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine – formed a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) into the tragedy.

On 24 May 2018, the JIT announced that the Buk missile installation that brought down the flight belonged to the Russian army.

The missile, which can reach a height of 80,000ft, was fired from rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine at a target that may mistakenly have been assumed to be a Ukrainian military aircraft.

A man walks among the debris at the crash site near the village of Hrabove, in Ukraine (AP)

Ms Wong said the sanctions announced Saturday targeted Sergey Dubinskiy and Leonid Kharchenko, two of those convicted by the Dutch court last year.

Australia had already sanctioned Igor Girkin, for his involvement in supporting separatism in eastern Ukraine in 2014, Ms Wong said.

The government has also sanctioned Sergey Muchkaev, a colonel with the Russian Armed Forces who commanded the brigade that supplied the missile system responsible for downing the plane, she said.

“These sanctions demonstrate the Australian Government’s ongoing commitment to hold to account those responsible for the downing of Flight MH17,” Ms Wong said in a statement.

“Australia is steadfast in our commitment to seek truth, justice and accountability for the victims of the downing of Flight MH17.”

While the international investigators earlier in February said there were “strong indications” that Vladimir Putin decided to supply the Russian missile system that downed MH17 over Ukraine, Moscow has previously denied involvement in the downing of the civilian jet.

The international team said it was suspending its investigation this year, claiming to have insufficient evidence to launch any fresh prosecutions.

Additional reporting by agencies