On the morning of the 10th anniversary of the downing of the passenger jet MH17, the Australian government has reiterated its pledge to find justice for the victims and their families.
The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down on July 17, 2014, by a Russian-made Buk missile fired from territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by separatist rebels.
All 298 passengers and crew were killed, including 38 Australians aboard.
The disaster caused an outpouring of grief across the world, including Australia, where churches were packed in the following days to commemorate the victims.
Russia's alleged role in the downing of MH17 also came into sharp focus, with then Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott sharply pointing to the Kremlin's role as relations between Canberra and Moscow sunk to a new low.
A global investigation team, which includes members of Australian agencies, has been working to find those responsible for a decade.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus will join families of the victims and other international dignitaries at a memorial service near Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands tomorrow.
Speaking ahead of the anniversary, he said the federal government remained determined to bring to justice those responsible for MH17's downing.
"We remain dedicated to seeking truth, justice and accountability from those responsible for this horrific act and call on the Russian Federation to take responsibility for the role it played and to cooperate to ensure those who fired the missile serve their sentences," Dreyfus said.
He also praised the determination and resilience of the victim's families.
"I pay tribute to their bravery, their strength and their perseverance. Seeking justice for those aboard flight MH17 has required many of those who loved them most to tell and re-tell their stories of loss in successive legal proceedings," he said.
There will also be a memorial service at Parliament House in Canberra today.
Dreyfus said it would be "a moment to pause and remember those whose lives were tragically cut short in a senseless act of violence. It will be a moment to commit ourselves to continue to seek accountability for those responsible for this despicable crime."
A Dutch court convicted two Russians and a pro-Moscow Ukrainian in 2022 of involvement in the downing of MH17 and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
They were tried in absentia and have not been detained to serve their sentences.
Last year, the Australian government imposed sanctions on the two Russians, Sergey Dubinskiy and Leonid Kharchenko.
The court ruled that the missile and its launcher were driven into Ukraine from a military base in Russia and the launcher returned to Russia afterward.
Russia has always denied any involvement in the downing of the flight over eastern Ukraine, and refused to cooperate with the international investigation.
As well as the criminal trial that was held in the Netherlands, the Dutch and Ukrainian governments are suing Russia at the European Court of Human Rights over its alleged role in the downing of MH17.
