Schiphol – The Dutch Court ruled on Thursday that it was a Russian missile that shot down the Malaysian plane MH17, which killed 298 people onboard, convicting three men of murder for their role in shooting down the passenger jet with a Russian surface-to-air missile.

The ruling comes as the Russia-Ukraine conflict nears a year. The brutality of the attacks on Ukraine by the Russian forces is undeniable. However, it is quite hard to forget the tragedy that led to the deaths of 15 crew members and 283 passengers, when the Malaysia Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in Ukraine in 2014.

The Dutch court came to the conclusion that MH17 was destroyed by a Russian-made medium-range surface-to-surface missile.

After years of investigation, the Dutch court stated on Thursday that the missile that killed 298 people was launched from a field in Sarvomesek.

The court stated that the three persons who were found responsible for the MH17 disaster were guilty, and the court clarified that they had delivered the missiles to the Russian-controlled armed group.

The court found two Russian citizens and one Ukrainian citizen guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment. A third Russian suspect was acquitted by the court.

The missile attack was the most notorious war crime in Ukraine. The court found that the trio had launched the missile on the assumption that it was a military aircraft but were actually planning to attack the aircraft.

Igor Girkin, a rebel leader, Sergei Dubinsky and Leonid Karnko were convicted by the court.

Oleg Pulatov was acquitted by the court.

The court awarded damages to families of more than 16 million euros ($16.5 million) but it is unclear who would pay that sum.

Relatives of the victims welcomed the verdict even though it is unlikely that any of the three convicted men will serve their sentences.

80 children were among those killed in the July 17, 2014 plane crash. The MH plane was flying over Ukraine at a height of 33000 feet when the missile crashed.

Most of the victims were from the Netherlands and most of the victims were holidaymakers. Malaysians and Australians are among those killed.