3 men receive lifelong sentences for downing flight MH17

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - Three men received life sentences for the downing of Malaysian flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014, while one was acquitted, a Dutch court ruled on Thursday.

Russians Sergey Dubinskiy and Igor Girkin, as well as Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko, were found guilty for causing the crash that resulted in the death of 298 civilians, while another Russian, Oleg Pulatov, was acquitted of all charges.

Dubisnky, Girkin, and Kharchenko were also ordered to pay over €16 million ($16.5 million) in compensation to the relatives of the victims.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. All 298 people on board were killed, including 196 Dutch citizens.

The Hague also confirmed that flight MH17 was shot down by a Russian-made Buk missile fired from the Pervomaisky area in the Kharkiv region.