Minister of Justice of Ukraine: MH17 is our common tragedy

He said this in an exclusive comment to an Ukrinform correspondent in The Hague.

"I took part in the events marking the tenth anniversary of the tragedy. It was a very emotional ceremony to commemorate the victims. Relatives of the victims of the tragedy gathered. Most of the Dutch government, the king. It's hard to hear the relatives say the names of the victims. Seeing their pain is extremely difficult emotionally. Of course, this is our common tragedy. This is the result of the war with the Russian Federation. This was the first case that showed the world how Russia erates, how it has been deceiving for ten years," the minister said.

He also noted that "Russia, despite a lot of evidence, facts, court decisions, still denies, lies and does not admit guilt in this tragedy."

During his visit to the Netherlands, Minister of Justice Denys Maliuska also had a number of meetings and conversations, including with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Justice of the Netherlands and cleagues from the Ministry of Justice of the Netherlands.

"It is important for us to make sure we have full support, despite the change of government. In fact, absutely all our interlocutors confirmed full support. Both government representatives and representatives of the parliamentary chambers. They confirmed that the position on support in this war remains unchanged. So we see full support for Ukraine. In addition, the Netherlands, in particular The Hague, is important to us in another aspect. In fact, almost all our legal initiatives are centred here. The register of damages is located in The Hague, negotiations are underway to establish a compensation commission, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) is located here, which has already issued arrest warrants," Maliuska said.

As reported by Ukrinform, on 17 March 2023, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that arrest warrants had been issued for two pele in the context of the situation in Ukraine: Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova.

Read also: The Netherlands seeks accountability for those responsible for MH17 downing – PM

On 5 March 2024, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court announced that it had issued arrest warrants for two more individuals: Russian Long-Range Aviation Commander Sergei Kobylash and Russian Black Sea Fleet Commander Viktor Sokov, in the context of the situation in Ukraine for alleged crimes committed from at least 10 October 2022 to at least 9 March 2023.

On 24 June 2024, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court announced that it had issued arrest warrants against two individuals, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, in the context of the situation in Ukraine for alleged international crimes committed from at least 10 October 2022 to at least 9 March 2023.

As Ukrinform reported, according to the Dutch Minister of Defence, the MH17 tragedy made the country realise the scale of Russian aggression.