EDITORIAL — MH17: 10 years on and still no justice

Today marks 10 years since that fateful day 298 people lost their lives after their airplane was shot down over eastern Ukraine. Yes, we are referring to the ill-fated flight MH17 of Malaysia Airlines.

Those who have read about the incident should be familiar with what happened: The plane was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down by a Soviet-era Buk surface-to-air rocket that was launched from territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian rebels.

The plane disintegrated in mid-air and plunged to the ground. There were no survivors among the passengers and crew, and bodies, body parts, and debris were scattered across what was then considered an active war zone, complicating investigative and recovery efforts.

It was not the first disaster for Malaysia Airlines in 2014. Earlier in March that same year, MH370 disappeared from the radar flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. While pieces of the plane have been found in subsequent years, it was not been definitely determined what brought the plane down.

This was the opposite for MH17. Evidence as to who shot the plane down is overwhelming despite the continuous denials by Russia and those they supported and supplied with weapons at that time; there are missile parts, recorded radio exchanges that prove the passenger jetliner was mistaken as an enemy aircraft, and photographic proof of the missile system itself --minus one projectile-- being hurried across the border to Russia, among other evidence.

Despite this, and even after 10 years, those responsible have yet to be brought to justice. And the one with the biggest blame is still free. In fact, he has even started a new war and seems to be just getting away with it despite having the blood of thousands more on his hands.

What will it take to bring justice to those left behind by the downing of MH17? We really don’t know at this point. While the pain remains fresh even after all this time for those who lost loved ones, those who are behind it are getting harder and harder to bring to account for their actions.