File photo of MH17 crash site in Ukraine. Image: PA Images File photo of MH17 crash site in Ukraine. Image: PA Images THE TRIAL OF four men accused of murder over the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014 opens in the Netherlands today, even though the suspects are still at large.
Despite international warrants issued for their arrest, none of the four suspects is expected to attend the high security court, located near Schiphol Airport where the doomed flight took off on 17 July 2014. Prosecutors say the four men on trial were all linked to pro-Russian separatists on whose territory the plane’s wreckage fell and who were instrumental in bringing the BUK missile system to Ukraine — even if they did not pull the trigger.
Pulatov, 53, was an ex-Russian special forces soldier and one of Dubinsky’s deputies who allegedly helped transport the missile system to Ukraine, while Kharchenko, 48, allegedly led a separatist unit in eastern Ukraine and secured the missile launcher.The charges against the four men resulted from a dogged international investigation led by Dutch authorities with the assistance of Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine.